Sons Of Destiny Episode I: The Jentarana
by Kjoil
Summary: A young man decides to follow his Jedi heritage to learn about his past and discover his future, only to find a path not as glorious as he imagined...
1. Dormant Potential

"As you are reading these words, you are taking part in one of the wonders of the natural world. For you and I belong to a species with a remarkable ability: we can shape events in each other's brains with exquisite precision. I am not referring to telepathy or mind control or the other obsessions of fringe science; even in the depictions of believers these are blunt instruments compared to an ability that is uncontroversially present in every one of us. That ability is language. Simply by making noises with our mouths, we can reliably cause precise new combinations of ideas to arise in each other's minds. The ability comes so naturally that we are apt to forget what a miracle it is."

_("The Language Instinct: The New Science of Language and Mind," 1994)_

"Choice of attention is to the inner life what choice of action is to the outer. In both cases, a person is responsible for their choice and must accept the consequences, whatever they may be."

_(W. H. Auden)_

_**Nar Shaddaa - **__**One Month After The Battle Of Yavin**_

The sound of the rain almost had a presence of its own, Skar thought, as he walked across the old duracrete bridge. The rain poured down around him, running down the folds of his poncho, creating little rivets in the small puddles by his feet with every step he took. Feeling the rain run over his face as it washed off his hood, Skar looked over his shoulder slowly, cautiously, and saw the two dark figures still trailing him. They were a good two-hundred feet behind him, a fact that didn't make Skar any less anxious. And more than just seeing them with his eyes, he could feel them in his mind, he could almost read their minds but he was afraid of what he'd see if he did. The picture of himself lying broken and bleeding in any of Nar Shaddaa's alleyways brought a lump to his throat.

He began to pick up his pace, though not shifting into a run just yet. It would let them know he knew they were there too soon, and he needed more time to think. He searched every corner of the bridge for some place to hide, but the only road available just led him on down the bridge, where the would-be muggers would eventually catch up to him. He would have to get off the bridge before they reached him, in the streets he could easily hide, but on the bridge there were only limited choices. He took a second look at his muggers, trying to make it look as casual as possible.

His worst fear was confirmed; both of them were armed, a mean-looking blaster holstered to the thigh on both of them.

The metallic cylinder, that bounced off his thigh as he walked, was his only comfort. And in the hands of someone properly trained it might even have been enough. He hesitated at the thought of using it. If he struck now, it would have been the first time he used it against others; albeit in self-defense, that wasn't a line he was ready to cross. He also knew that if others were around to see him draw his weapon, it might turn two muggers into an entire city of enemies. Potentially an entire galaxy.

_I guess it wouldn't make that much of a difference anyway_, he thought with a scoff. He'd managed to get by on Nar Shaddaa hiding all his life and was sick of it, sick of hiding who he was and what he could do. Sick of living with the danger of him revealing himself as the Jedi he was. And not only Jedi , he was also Kjoil. A family name which rang as loud as Jedi and was every bit as hated and hunted by the Empire.

Skar pulled in a breath of humid air and licked the raindrops from his lips. Even though he knew he could not reveal himself, he didn't want to die. And if it came to a fight, he felt sure the situation would motivate him to draw his weapon in defense. He'd made an oath to himself long ago that he wasn't going to die on Nar Shaddaa and the lightsaber was the keeper of that oath.

_Why now? _

A month ago his foster parent, Lwen, had sat him down and explained everything Skar had wanted to know about his past and his real parents. Skar had always known that Lwen had extensive knowledge and information about them, but he didn't know the danger of that knowledge. Lwen was safeguarding the information for a time when Skar was ready for the responsibility. For when he was old enough. This had been the same time Skar had been given his lightsaber. Skar remembered the conversation, permanently tattooed into his mind.

_I have something to tell you before you go out tonight_, Lwen had said one late night and Skar had listened with all the interest of a young child being told fables and myths from the past. _This isn't easy for me. As you know, I was a friend of your parents, Sasa and Koll. What you don't know and what I have been hiding from you for a very good reason, is that they were Jedi. _

Skar remembered feeling what could only be described as complete denial.At first he didn't want to believe it. Jedi were mythical creatures from a time long ago, beings that were talked about as gods or at the very least enforcers of a greater will. He thought it was another drunken ramble coming, Lwen had taken up drinking heavily in the last couple of months, but the man had said the words with such intensity and fear that Skar didn't dare second-guess him.

_Its true. Your father was a Jedi apprentice the first time I met him. He met your mother, Sasa, through his Master, Skind Kjoil, who was Sasa's brother. _

_Skind_, Skar had said the name aloud, as if the sound of it brought forth memories he never knew he had_, he was my uncle. My real uncle. _The riots of thoughts inside Skar was feeding every desire he'd ever had to learn about his parents and stuffing that desire till it couldn't take anymore. At that point he already knew his parents' names but nothing about them as individuals. Believing they had been Jedi was mindboggling enough, and now a third person was also there. His real uncle. His mother's brother. A Jedi who had trained his father.

An uncle named Skind Kjoil.

Since then Skar had begun to feel parts of him fall into place. His past, how he had come to Nar Shaddaa. A month before that Skar had known nothing about the Jedi other than they were dead. A long time ago, their kind had been wiped clean from the face of the Galaxy. Lwen had told him stories about them, though never revealed that Skar's parents had infact been Jedi as well. Having heard about Jedi, Skar knew they were believed to have a connection with a life-force that gave them special powers. They were wizards, their powers used for the protection of good.

Since the Republic no longer existed, destroyed from the inside by vicious and vile corruption and now dubbed the Empire, Skar pondered how his Jedi heritage would help him. The Empire had made sure that every last one of the Jedi was destroyed, several thousands of them, according to Lwen. Their extinction originated shortly after the Clone Wars, and later the Emperor finalized their destruction in the Jedi Purge. Having spent his entire life on Nar Shaddaa, and knowing nothing about the world outside it, he trusted no one save Lwen. He didn't talk to anyone else, and he knew Lwen could be trusted. The man had made it a religion to keep Skar's Jedi heritage a secret for nearly two decades.

It didn't take long for Skar to understand why Lwen never mentioned it before. Jedi survivors were hunted. If he had been told at an earlier age, he wouldn't have been ready to deal with it. He knew that many people would do anything for money, even rat him out to the Empire. If he had been told at a younger age, he might have run off and told the wrong person, bragging about it, and the Empire would have found him in a matter of seconds. Now that he was older he was smart enough to keep this a secret.

_They were Jedi? _

_They lived to protect the peace of the Galaxy. Your uncle went on to train your mother when your father became a Knight. But Sasa was left with her training uncompleted when Skind went away. Your father promised him that he would complete her training. She became a Jedi under his training, and during their time together their relationship bloomed into love. Your father fell in love with your mother, and together they had a small baby boy. That boy was you, Skar. _

For the first time, Skar had witnessed something he'd never thought he would see. Lwen was usually strong and composed and didn't seem affected by any hardship, but coming clean to Skar had been too emotional for him. Lwen's face had twisted in sorrow and he'd turned away quickly, so Skar wouldn't see his eyes watering. Not able to hide it, Lwen wept and Skar had felt his despair radiating off him. Running his sleeve over his teary eyes, Lwen finally looked up at Skar.

_Later your father died in the Clone Wars. He…never even got to see you._

Having never established a relationship with his father it was impossible for him to feel much. Skar had once thought his father was somewhere out there, looking for Skar. It saddened him to know, but he was still relieved to know the truth.

_While the Jedi were being hunted down and slaughtered in the Jedi Purge, Sasa placed you into my hands, she knew that with my connections in the underworld I could get you to safety, away from the enemies of the Jedi._

Skar remembered feeling a respect for Lwen that he hadn't felt before. He'd always trusted the man like a father, but to know that his mother had felt so much faith in him cemented it. _My mother knew you would save me. _

_It was all I could do to honor your father. He was my friend. I wish I could have saved your mother too, but she knew it would never work. Skar, even now the Empire is still hunting to find Jedi remnants. There are not many left, if any. _

Lwen didn't have to say it. Skar understood that in his genes also burned the vibrant energy the Jedi mastered and that he too had the potential to become a Jedi. Skar had hugged Lwen as tight and caringly as he could, both of them trying to find comfort in each other. Some way to ease the tension and disunion. They stood there, taking comfort in each other for a long time. Sharing the pain and relief. Skar's relief in knowing the truth. Lwen's relief in telling Skar the truth.

_There is more. _

_More? _

Lwen pulled out a small hologram-projector along with the Jedi lightsaber that had belonged to his real uncle Skind Kjoil. Lwen later confessed to having stolen the lightsaber from Skind's tomb on Coruscant. The hologram-projector was a infact a Holocron teaching instrument for mastering the lightsaber. A Holocron was a repository of all the knowledge a Jedi had learned, but in his case it only contained lightsaber lessons instructed by his mother, Sasa Kjoil. A Holocron would contain only one Jedi's knowledge, and so the subjects in them varied considerably, but was limited to lightsaber training in his case.

_I'm the last of the Jedi. _

So there he was, left with the teaching tools of a weapon he couldn't possibly learn to master if he didn't have the tools to understanding the Force. He had no clue where to look or where to begin to train. Or even how to train. But there were hints. Skar had abilities that normal men didn't. Like psychometry and a small portion of telekinesis. Both abilities had not been forced into affect but had appeared out of nowhere, without Skar even focusing on trying. They flowed to him through the Force when he was most calm and centered.

The psychometry he could use at will though, and although an amazing feat it had never been of much use. Even with these abilities he lacked principal understanding of where they came from, what made them come alive, and how he would come to full understanding of them.

The Force was a thing, a belief, a religion even, that some people had trusted enough to put their lives in its hands, believing it would lead them on the right path, that it would show them the way their lives were destined to flow. But it had failed to show him any path that didn't lead into even more confusion. Skar knew he was a Jedi in the sense that the Force was in his family and that he was open to it; only he didn't know how to let it in. Feeling the lightsaber brush against his leg, he felt slightly ashamed for even wearing it. He was not worthy of it. Not yet.

Not before he learned how to be in touch with the Force.

* * *

From above two shadows watched the youth walking across the bridge, walking fast enough to arouse their suspicion. Clearly trying to evade his pursuers, the young man continued to cross the bridge with more than a little panic in his step. Faces hidden in the darkness of their deep hoods, they could sense his worry and his need for help. And yet the thought of intervening never occurred.

_That's him_, the smaller shadow said without words. Since his words were not verbal but rather by way of emotion, his impatience rang clear.

The larger shadow nodded. _He will know soon enough. _

_

* * *

Pulling himself out of reminiscing Skar looked back over his shoulder again to see the two figures pursuing him. He shook his head clear of thoughts and realized he would have to act soon. It was obvious to him now they wouldn't let him go. As the rain increased in its bombardment, Skar began to deliberately pick up his pace, but maintaining a casual sprint, hoping his pursuers would see it as nothing more than him running to get home and out of the rain. But before long he could hear them running in the splashes too. Skar sped up to a sprint and the rain washed away from his feet as he dashed down the bridge, his boots splashing through the surfaces of the puddles._

Skar dared to smile as a plan began to take shape.

As he ran by one of the metal-girders maintaining the balance and stability of the bridge, Skar's hand graced the surface of the cold and wet duracrete. Knowledge swam through his fingers instantly and he felt the only kind of Force he had learned to fully understand so far; psychometry. Skar ran on, now upgraded with knowledge and understanding of the bridge even those who built it did not know. Weaknesses, strengths and even the detailed schematics and layouts of the bridge's design. Up ahead came his window of opportunity.

_It'll work. It has to work!_

Unclipping the lightsaber from his belt as he ran, Skar activated the blade. Its fiery golden light illuminated the bridge in an instant bright flare, lighting up the shadows and corners like a torch.

_Please work!_

The muggers kept coming.

* * *

The smaller shadow stirred in his cloak. _He's the one. _

The two still maintained their position as observers, though impressed beyond their expectations by what they had seen. They even noticed what the muggers hadn't; his touch of the bridge which gave him the upper hand.

_Before victory comes humility, my apprentice.  
_

* * *

Skar, focused and burning with the feeling of triumph though his plan hadn't come full circle yet, cradled the lightsaber in his hand, hoping it would serve the purpose he had planned for it. Skar turned his sprint ninety degrees to the right and unfolded a full fledged leap, arms out to the sides, jumping over the railing of the bridge and plunged deep into its shadowy mouth. He held his arms out like a bird and allowed gravity to suck him deep down into the belly of darkness.

The smaller observer shuddered when he saw the boy disappear off the railing. The two muggers came running up to where the boy had dove off, stared over the railing, but saw only the flash of the lightsaber plunge deeper into the shadows, disappearing a few hundred levels down. The light faded eventually and the boy was forever lost to them.

The muggers looked at each other and shoulders lifted in confusion. Then after a few moments of yelling, pushing and blaming each other, they left the scene and vanished just like the boy.

Skar pulled himself up on the service-walkway just under the railing of the bridge. His arms and muscles ached from hanging on for so long. He struggled for air and sucked as much of it in as he could contain. The rain still pounded him, but he welcomed the sensation of coldness over his body.

A few weeks ago a part of the bridge had collapsed and the section had been rebuilt and Skar had noticed a few days agao that the maintenance workers had abandoned one of their work-platforms. Touching the Force and the bridge he knew where the rebuilt section was, and knew where the platform was, since it stood out like an alien presence on the bridge. He'd struck down hard on the platform ten feet below the bridge, and then hurried to roll off the edge and hung on by his fingers.

When his strength was fully recovered he got up and looked down into the darkness. He realized the gift he had in psychometry, he was able to read the past of an object simply by touching it. It was a Jedi trait, a magic trick, and the only one he had fully perfected, and though it was not always useful it had saved his life here.

The lightsaber, however, that was an entirely different matter. He had allowed the lightsaber to free fall into the underground to lure the muggers into thinking he had fallen with it. They had seen the flash as he ran on the bridge and then saw it jump over the railing and then disappear down below. They made the assumption, just as he hoped, that he was falling with it.

He concentrated hard and focused his mind on the lightsaber with the specter of the Force inside him and telekinesis brought the lightsaber back from the darkness and it slammed into his hand. Psychometry was his force, and telekinesis remained a gift he had very little luck with. It too came to him from the Force and so far it had been of absolutely no use. He'd managed to make it work in some situations but only with very small items like the lightsaber. He had tried with larger objects too, since the Force was supposed to be without physical limits, but the larger objects never responded to his touch.

In fact as he held the lightsaber, he remembered that it was the only thing he could call to him with the Force, perhaps so because the lightsaber was also an asset of the Force. It too relied on the Force for its best use and therefore was in direct contact with it as long as the user was.

Skar closed the poncho tighter around him and pulled the hood back over his head. He lifted his eyes to the nightline and saw the stars shining brightly above. He exhaled once more, letting the feeling of victory set in fully, and when it did he couldn't help smiling. He even chuckled a bit at his own success, feeling it was right for him to have that joy. Exhilarated, Skar couldn't help but laugh, the joy he felt was wonderful, like some illegal substance his uncle had warned him about.

And he lost himself inside the feeling, a truly wonderful sensation that sharpened his every sense, making him see everything clearly as if for the first time. He could feel time moving around him, see the very fabric of time unfold. He saw past, present and future grow and it brought forth a view of the entire Galaxy before him. Too many events, too much data, too much static and uncertainty, he couldn't piece it all together.

Although a bit scary, it gave him some feeling that what he was trying to do, what he was trying to become, wasn't entirely out of reach. For some reason he felt someone was watching him, waiting for him to become a Jedi so that he might protect them.

_I proved a lot to myself just now, I wasn't sure it would work, but I kept telling myself it would. And it did. _

Skar's heart warmed. He lost himself in the Force, and found himself wandering over thoughts he had never thought, feeling a power and surge he had never felt. A full connection with the Force, the first he had ever achieved.

And even as he concentrated on holding it, he lost it. Overrun by frustration, Skar pounded his fist on the railing. "Damn it," he cursed through his barred teeth.

* * *

The observers rose from the roof and looked at each other, their warm breath like smoke as they both exhaled. The rain soaked their cloaks and neither of them cared.

_He is the one, Master. _

The other nodded and started to walk over the rooftop. _Proceed as we planned. I'll await your call. _

The man watched as his Master walked away from him, and then looked back at the bridge and saw the boy coming up over the railing. The boy started running, as if in urgency. The man reached out to the Force to read the boy's mind, but found only confusion. Then he smiled at the boy as he disappeared off the bridge and into the city.

_We'll meet soon enough. _

With a violent snap of his cloak the man turned and followed his Master.

* * *

In the twilight of the glowing bulb above the door to his home, Skar moved the lightsaber around to the back of his belt, he didn't know if Lwen was home or if he was out drinking again, a habit he'd picked up recently, but he didn't want to talk about what had happened this evening, knowing his uncle would not approve of him wearing the lightsaber in public.

Touching the panel, typing in the access-code, the door slid open and Skar sought refuge from the rain. He threw his dripping poncho on the floor of the small hall, and walked on past Lwen's bedroom and stumbled into the living room.

The sensors picked up his movement and immediately shone to let him see the room. All four walls, including floor and ceiling, lit up as he walked in. The room had a desk where Lwen usually dwelled. A console stood in the corner, two seats and a table were in the center of the room, and a kitchen existed beyond the living room.

Skar almost didn't notice the sleeping Lwen sitting in one of the chairs facing him, with his dirty and wet boots up on the table. Lwen had been given custody of Skar, after his mother had died. He was in no way related to Lwen genetically, but he liked to think to think of him as an uncle due to Lwen's prior friendship with his real parents. He had been his father's best friend, like a brother, so Skar had chosen to call him uncle.

When he had been younger, Lwen would tell him stories of his parents and their adventures together whenever Skar couldn't fall asleep. His favorite had been the one involving Lwen's first meeting with his father, Koll, infact that very meeting had happened right there on Nar Shaddaa. Lwen had been making a living as a smuggler, though not a very successful one, when Skar's father had first met him. Koll had hired Lwen to fly him to another system, Lwen always liked to point out that if he knew back then what was in store, he never would have taken the job. His father had taken Lwen through hell and back on a quest to track down a band mercenaries that had struck at a Republic outpost.

During that tumultuous mission Lwen and Koll had grown close and had stuck together. Lwen always smiled when recollecting the old days, recalling his youth.

A youth that was escaping him faster and faster. Lwen's buzzcut and gray beard gave him the look of a strong determined man and Skar knew that people respected him for his sternness, some even feared him, and he had the short fuse to go with it. If Skar didn't know him and love him, he too would have felt smaller by the look of him. But the rough persona he portrayed when sober and alert, was nowhere to be found in him now. Skar placed the blame mostly on the heavy snoring.

The lights awakened Lwen and after a heartfelt groan he looked at Skar through drowsy eyelids. His light-blue eyes shone under gray eyebrows and wrinkles. "Skar? What the…what are…" he had to concentrate to make his words work the way he wanted, "so…you decided to come home?" The slurred speech was testament of Lwen's less than sober situation. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"I…"

The man shifted awkwardly in his chair, as if he'd never tried one before. "Why do you persist in making me worry about you?"

Skar had a feeling Lwen was trying to excuse his own situation as being simply worried about Skar, but rather than forcing the issue Skar found it best to just play along. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Lwen growled. "Sorry isn't going to cut it, boy. What were you out doing? Flashing that lightsaber at everybody again?"

Skar swallowed hard. "Lwen, you know I -."

Lwen put his feet on the floor, a few empty bottles that had once contained alcoholic liquids clanged by his boots. Lwen sat forward in the chair, placed his elbows on his knees and brushed the sleep from his eyes. "You're a big Jedi, aren't you? A big hero? Think you can save everybody?"

"Lwen, you're drunk."

"What!" Lwen shouted and glared at him with disgust. "What did you just say? You don't know everything, you're not that much of a Jedi, Skar!" Lwen lifted his chin. "I was once a respected man, I had a name, a name that was known in the Republic as someone who could be trusted. Your father trusted me, your mother trusted me, the whole Jedi bunch, whatever good they ever did, trusted me! Now look at me. I'm nothing!"

Skar shook his head. "No, you're not."

Lwen shrugged. "Here I am, stuck on this cursed moon, stuck with a boy who dreams of becoming a Jedi! You're not a Jedi. You're nothing too!"

Skar didn't know what to say, though he suspected what Lwen was yelling was just drunken talk. But then again, there was the old saying about truth being found through alcohol. "Lwen, you've had too much to drink, please go to bed."

Startling Skar, Lwen furiously kicked the table to the other end of the room. "Don't you start telling me what to do! Everybody's telling me what to do, but no one ever asked me! Your mother did that too! I became your guardian so that you could become a Jedi, but its useless. You're just a kid - "

Skar screwed his eyes shut in anger, and thought it was amazing that Lwen could be so close and still feel so far away. "Maybe if you didn't drink so much you would know that I'm trying every second to be what you want me to be!"

Lwen scoffed. "You may be trying but its useless, Skar. There's a whole galaxy out there just aching to find out about you so they can sell you out for a handful of credits."

"So? Am I just supposed to give up?" Skar held out his hands, growing more angry with each second. "Give up like you?"

Lwen snickered at something only he could find funny. "It would probably save your life, boy. And, yeah, I think you should let it go. This is over your head. There's no one left to help you train. I sure as hell don't have anything to teach you."

Skar's teeth ground together. "Yeah, I'm starting to realize that too."

The drunk man frowned. "Joke all you want. And do whatever the hell you want. Hope you make it." Lwen pointed a thumb at his own chest. "My money is on Vader."

"Somehow I'm not surprised," Skar said and turned around to go to his room. He wasn't interested in continuing this conversation.

"Wait," Lwen rasped.

Skar sighed, but stopped and turned to listen.

Lwen sat forward and looked down at his own fingers. "Skar. Your mother, she placed you in my hands, right here, where I could protect you. Now you're out there and I can't keep track of you. You've grown, but the dream you were supposed to live up to, is not gonna happen. There is no one left to train you." Lwen pushed himself out of the chair and made fists of his hands. "Its not…that I don't want to hope things will be okay. Its just…I don't see how."

Skar understood. "I know. But I can't just let this fade away. I have to keep at it. Its the only way I have any chance of finding a way."

Lwen placed his hands in his pockets and nodded, a sullen expression on his face. "Then you keep at it. Don't let bastards like me get you down."

Skar felt like crying, and soon after he did. "Thanks, Lwen." He walked over to his only family and held him in tight. Skar hugged him as firmly as he could, but Lwen didn't take his hands out of his pockets for some reason. Skar kept hugging him and it seemed everything would be alright. Skar felt that things were back to normal, he almost felt happy again when the old man said the sentence that would haunt him forever.

"You're a coward."

A cold fist closed on Skar's heart as he pulled himself free of the embrace, the tears still ran down his cheeks and the blurred image of Lwen seemed unreal. "What?"

"Who am I kidding?" Lwen asked no one with a snarl, his breath heavy with alcohol. "You were your mother's dream. A prophecy. Now you're just a joke."

"Why would you say that - "

"Hope is for fools, Skar. I'm fed up with this. You don't need me anymore. I've done my part. But… I'll help you one last time," Lwen took his hands out of his pockets and opened his shirt, "you're gonna have to learn to kill, and I know you can't. Jedi takes lives to protect others, I remember, and you're gonna learn too. Start with me." Lwen stared at him coldly. "Kill me, Skar."

Skar stepped back. "No".

"Come on, don't be scared. I remember. Jedi, they killed," he snorted, "they killed _me_. I just as well may be dead." Lwen shivered and tugged at his shirt. "I remember back in the days of the Republic. Life was wonderful, I had friends, I had a life. Now all I have is you. What happened to my life, what happened to those days?" Lwen growled and a side of him emerged that Skar had never wanted to see. "There's no point to it all. There's no shame in giving up when the rest of Galaxy has, too."

Skar wanted to say something to make Lwen see things differently, but he felt himself being slowly convinced that the old man was right. Skar lowered his head. "I don't want this, Lwen, and I didn't ask for this either. I can't do it alone."

Lwen's blue eyes narrowed. "But you _are _alone, Skar. And you're fighting against something too big for you. You're spitting in the wind!"

Skar shook his head. "I won't give up, Lwen. I won't make you right. I won't give up like you."

Lwen shook his head, and almost stumbled over by the effort. "I've never been this clear, my boy. Do it. Give an old man his last wish. Set me free…"

More angry than he'd ever felt, Skar turned and ran to the door that lead back into the rain, and into the hollow and cold darkness of Nar Shaddaa that suddenly seemed a lot better than staying with Lwen, who was undergoing a depression like nothing Skar had ever witnessed before.

Unlocking the door and picking up his poncho, Skar knew he could find another place to sleep, like the old abandoned traffic control not far away. He'd spent many nights there since Lwen had taken to drinking. A part of him wanted to stay at home, the angry part of him. The furious part of him that felt betrayed by a man he trusted more than anyone. The only person he thought he could count on. Lwen was still screaming in the living room when Skar, with decisive steps and feeling more grown than ever, tears blending with the falling rain, reached the street level.

"You coward! Come back here!"

* * *

Perched like a gargoyle on the rooftop of Skar's home the shadow man watched the youth run out the door and down into the streets. Amidst the sound of thunder and the all too close rain, the shadow man could sense Skar's inner rage and fury. The boy ran off down into an alley and vanished briefly from the man's sight.

With the aid of the Force the man leapt gracefully from the rooftop to another and another, following the boy from above, staying always concealed with the help of the dark canvas of night and the sound of pouring rain.

* * *

_Jedi do not dream. But they do hope… _

Skar awoke in an unreal world, as the distant voice plowed its way through his thoughts and settled there, like a reminder, a whisper inside his mind of things to come. Within his dream the words slowly lost context as rain poured down hard around Skar, wetting his clothes and soaking his hair.

As he looked around, he became more sure that although the rain was familiar what he was seeing was only a dream, that the world around him was a figment of his imagination. It wasn't real. Standing on the edge of a cliff, he peered off into the peripheral. There were no massive skyscrapers like there were on Nar Shaddaa, no endless lanes of traffic. It was a world as pure and untouched as any he'd ever seen in pictures or heard of.

Beneath the cliff he was standing on the sea stretched off into the horizon and the water was dark blue. Enormous clouds and towering mountains behind him stretched up to the overshadowing rain-clouds. He looked down from the cliff and saw waves crashing against the shore.

The moon was high.

Though knowing it wasn't real, Skar felt peace standing on top of the cliff. The rain dripping off his face didn't bother him, nor the soaked hair that clung to his head. He didn't know why but something about the world felt familiar, it felt like he had been there before. He felt like he belonged on this world.

He shifted on his heel and looked at a small rain puddle by his feet, but didn't recognize the man he saw in its watery reflection. This man was older, he had short tussled black hair, a beard, red tattoos were painted over his hands. It was not common, as much as he had been told, to dream of being someone else. Yet something in the eyes of the man reminded Skar of something. Something familiar.

_That isn't me_, Skar told himself, _I'm sure._

He felt his heart start pounding as he looked up, to see a second person. Cloaked in a dark robe and holding a green lightsaber, it looked more menacing than anything Skar had ever seen in real life. The rain sizzled on the green blade, small puffs of smoke drifting in the wind. Hollowed in shadows and terrifying in persona, the nightmare looked up and he saw glimpses of a face under the dripping hood.

Skar's right hand flicked the switch of something he hadn't realized was in his hand and a trail of light, the color of fire, erupted from its handle. Skar heard the small puffs as the rain touched his blade, and somewhere in his mind he understood that it was his own lightsaber, the one he had been given by Lwen. The one that had belonged to his uncle, Skind Kjoil.

_Am I seeing things through his eyes? His past?_

Before an answer was found, Skar's feet spread apart by their own will and readied himself for the unavoidable battle. The nightmare stepped closer, and held up the weapon, showering the dark cloak in green light. His adversary stretched tall and Skar caught another glimpse of the person's face under the hood but it moved into another shadow before he could make recognize any marks.

His adversary's voice sounded like thunder, full of hate. "I am a prisoner of fate, a prisoner of emotion and destiny, the curse in all genes. My past cannot be undone, nor my future. Friend or foe; you will die."

Skar's lips peeled back in a grin, beyond his control. "Not without taking you with me, old friend."

His attacker spun the weapon of green light and advanced on Skar, the blade held high and with death as its only intention. "Then we will fight again in hell!"

With speed impossible for humanoids, the two attacked each other sending sparks and cracks from their weapons. Everything moved in slow motion to him, the swinging blades, the fast foot movement, the floating cloaks, and the decisions. Skar lunged for a high attack, striking down on top of the green blade. Seeing the fight through the eyes of the stranger, he spun right and attacked low, then pivoted back to his original position and lunged at the back of his foe. The green blade parried and thrust away his blade. The deadly enemy then spun full circle and struck at Skar in a cut that would have taken off his head, if he hadn't ducked.

From his hunched-down position, Skar sliced with lightning speed, but hit nothing except empty air as the adversary leaped above the cut. The dark being back-flipped into a handstand, swirling on its hand before landing on its feet. Not wasting a second the monster then moved in close and struck at Skar's shoulder. Skar parried and moved into his adversary's inner circle of defense and landed a wet fist on his throat. The enemy backed off, coughing, clutching its own throat.

Skar waited for his enemy to recover. The green blade came back up, protecting its holder once again. Skar's nemesis advanced again, this time raining blows upon his blade and finally kicking him in the side of his pelvis. A jolt of pain shot through his back and Skar fell over, his face drowning in mud.

He tried pressing himself up but he felt lightning strike down in the back of his thigh and knew instantly he was too late.

He screamed in agony, though his lungs couldn't match the same level of pain his soul endured. He looked over his shoulder to see the attacker tower over him. The pain exploded again, even stronger this time, as the green blade pulled itself free of his leg. Skar's own weapon was still alive, but it was too far from his hand for him to reach.

Skar felt a boot land on his wounded thigh and he winced in pain. Trying to unlock his jaws from the tormenting pain, Skar felt the boot grind against his wounded thigh, magnifying the pain and filling him with rage.

Though it wasn't him crying out the words, he heard them as his own. "Stop!"

The warrior laughed. "I've taught you well, at least concerning honor. You will have a quick death." The green blade was then raised high, and the blade reversed, intending to stab through Skar's spine. There was hesitation, the warrior stood there in a form of murderous ecstasy.

Skar spat mud from his lips. "Make the kill. Don't be sloppy."

He heard the last laugh coming from the demonic assassin as the blade stabbed down, severing his spine in two and burning through the ground beneath him.

The creature grinned in perverse pleasure. "Do you…see your life flash before you?" it asked with a deep rasp.

Skar's throat clamed shut, as his eyes began to water. "You betrayed me…"

Before oblivion came, Skar smelled his own burnt clothes and flesh and he felt his heart refusing to beat again. He wanted to exhale but his body froze and he stiffened.

Coming out of the dream screaming and tossing, Skar fell off the bunk onto the floor dripping in sweat. He coughed and tossed back his sweat-driven hair. For a few minutes he hyperventilated, the fear of the adversary, though he knew it had just been a dream, still very real. His hands were trembling and he couldn't gather his thoughts into anything but one thought;

_Jedi do not dream. But they do hope…_

He pulled himself over to the fresher-station, and splashed water onto his face. Looking up into the mirror he saw himself again, but looking so panicked and frightened that he hardly recognized himself. The dream had seemed so real, so alive, he had even felt the stab in the thigh on his own body, and even though he knew it was sweat, he couldn't shake the imaginative rain from his head.

But none of the people in the dream had been him, he was sure of it. They were not anything he had ever seen. Nothing he even knew had ever happened. But their weapons had been lightsabers, they had been Jedi.

_What's happening to me? Is the Force showing me the future or the past? _

_Maybe both. _

With the mystery unsolved, Skar stepped outside on the balcony and took a look at the world he was presently a prisoner of. Nar Shaddaa, otherwise known as the Smuggler's Moon, was nothing more than a halfway for traders and merchants to come and do business with goods and valuables. Usually illegal. A utopia for smuggling, a city known for its lack of justice and law. A haven for those who had chosen the illegal activities that life offered. Nar Shaddaa was like a dark, humid, shadowy nightmare.

Like Coruscant a planet engulfed in construction, but without the pristine beauty.

The packs made it easy for Skar to blend in. Shops and stands filled the sides of the streets and the fronts of houses, all tall buildings that looked devastated enough to be pulled down. A huge network of buildings covering the entire moon, a sanctuary for people who wanted to disappear and never be found again. Despite security forces, the law was not alive here. Justice was made only by the rules those bigger and more dangerous decided upon on those who were smaller. It would be easy to hide here, in this haven of lawlessness.

And Skar was hiding.

Nal Hutta set over the iron sky of Nar Shaddaa, and Skar made a small salute, partly in joke and partly in hope that he would survive long enough to see the swamp planet again. It was night again on Nar Shaddaa now, the moon of Nal Hutta, most of the citizens in that sector had retired to their homes and beds while he was free to do his training undisturbed.

Skar placed the Holocron on the floor of the office in the high tower. The tower was originally a beacon transmitter for incoming space traffic, but it had served its purpose and was abandoned. The office on top had a 360 degrees view of Nar Shaddaa and Skar liked hanging out there. He could see for miles, past the tall spears and buildings of Nar Shaddaa. And when he looked down he could see traffic growing and dying with each hour.

Skar shrugged off the thoughts of death, past and future and, taking a deep breath, he placed the small projector on the table. With touch he activated the Holocron and small lights flicked on around the edges of the projector. Finally the center of it illuminated and like small stars colliding a ghostly figure appeared in midair, no bigger than his hand.

The ghostly figure of his mother came to life to teach him, once again, how to utilize his lightsaber. Her brown eyes were kind and she had a warm smile. From the youthful look she was endeared with, he gathered that she would have been only a couple of years older than him. It felt strange for him to see his mother, when she was so close to his own age. She was beautiful, her dark long hair was tied into a knot. Her hands were folded at the small of her back and she wore a brown and sand-colored uniform of a sort he had never seen before. A lightsaber was clipped to her belt.

The woman, his mother, Sasa Kjoil, raised her chin and looked directly into his eyes, as the Holocron played the introduction to the training-lessons. Skar had viewed the intro many times, but it still hurt his heart to see his mother and to hear her dying words.

"I sure hope this is working. Skar, if Lwen hasn't changed too much over the years, you will be the first or second to be viewing this hologram. I will have to make this short, my son. My ship has fallen under attack by the Empire and it won't be long until they breach the hull."

Her sad, beaten voice went straight to Skar's heart. She looked down at her feet for an instant, and then back up, her voice starting to shake. "My precious son, I can't believe our last contact has to be like this, years and space apart. I love you, my son, I _do _love you of all that I am. As did your father. I am sad to say he never got to see you, though I know he loved you every bit as much as I do. Lwen was his best friend, I don't know if he ever told you that, or if he ever talked about your father and I. Koll and I loved him dearly, for the sacrifice he made. And for the help he has been - Well, he raised you so you already know that, but here is where it gets harder."

Her breath was all he could hear for seconds. "I am a Kjoil Knight, the same as your father was, and your uncle, and you. Our race, our family, the Kjoil, are bound by the Force. Epigones of the Force. The Republic has been corrupted and destroyed by the Empire. Now the Jedi are being hunted and destroyed by the agents of this evil. We have been betrayed and only a handful of us are still alive," she looked away for a second, as if she heard something, "but we won't be for long. None of us will survive," her brown eyes closed as she bravely held the tears back, "except perhaps you."

Her eyes began to tear and two wet lines ran down her cheeks. "I love you so much, my boy. Never doubt that. I have placed instructions inside this Holocron that can help you. Follow the instructions you find here. It will help you to become a Kjoil. Which is your true heritage of the Force - " a large blast rocked the hologram picture and his mother had to support herself against a wall. " - I have no more time, other than to say that I know you will succeed. Tell Lwen, that I am more grateful to him than he could possibly imagine. Goodbye, my son - "

The last he saw of her, was her hand reaching up to touch the recorder. Her hand was tattooed, odd lines and symbols ran back and forth like the leaves of a plant. The red lines ran around and between her fingers and stopped at her wrist. Somehow they looked similar to the ones on the hands of the Jedi in his dream, and he wondered what that could mean. The transmission from his mother had been sent during the Purge. And presumably few minutes before his mother had been killed.

And it only confirmed what he already knew. His mother had died in the Jedi Purge. His father had died in the Clone Wars. His uncle had disappeared. And all the Jedi were dead…

Skar had never felt so alone.

Reluctantly and contemplating what good it was for, he went on with the lightsaber-practice. He clipped the lightsaber from his belt, and noticed the matching red symbols on its metallic surface. Symbols which ran in an odd pattern, which made no sense to him, but probably made much sense to the owner before him. His uncle. Again those symbols haunted him like an unsolved mystery. His mother had them, his uncle's lightsaber had them. Even that Jedi in the dream had them.

He began to think it was born into the flesh of the Kjoil only to remember that he had none, so his theory didn't match. Holding the weapon he felt again the recognition through the Force and through his ability in psychometry. A sense, small visions of the thing's achievements, feelings and emotions. It had belonged to his uncle. All though he didn't know his uncle, he felt a familiar sensation, as if he _had _known him. Images of what he was like. Warm, kind, strong, but sad.

And more importantly he was filled with the knowledge and textures on how the tool functioned. Within seconds the tool was no longer a stranger to him, it felt more like an old friend he'd hadn't seen in a while, or a memory lost beyond time.

Skar put his thump on the ignition-switch, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His finger circled around the switch and then pressed it down. With a loud snap-hiss, the room was illuminated with a golden light. The blade itself, was about a meter in length and was colored like fire. It was a weapon, of great force and perfection. The weapon hummed constantly, and its pitch changed as he moved it. It was perfect in his eyes. It was so simple and yet the deadliest weapon he had ever seen. It demanded far more expertise than a blaster, which meant the user or wearer of the weapon himself was outstanding, in not only mastering of the weapon but also self-control.

A lightsaber could be wielded properly only after years of extensive training and disciplined use. Constructed by a Jedi many times during his or her lifetime, often marking a change of state in the Jedi himself as he progressed in the ways of the Force. A lightsaber would gradually become part of a Jedi as he used it, though Skar didn't feel that close to it yet. In fact he feared training, thinking he might screw up and die by his own hand. Everything he knew about the lightsaber he knew from touching it. It all flowed to him in a flash whenever he touched it.

Skar hoped he would someday learn to control the weapon as perfectly as the owner, Skind Kjoil, had.

_Someday I will. _

The Holocron taught him to respect the weapon as more than just a tool or a weapon, it was the very essence of a Jedi. It was what made a Jedi. It flowed and moved as its master moved. The skillful wielding of the legendary blade was considered the true mark of a Jedi. He had taken lessons from the Holocron for a month now on how to use it, hoping it would bring him closer to becoming a Jedi Knight. But he had made no progress other than knowing the weapon was not something to play around with.

Nevertheless that was what the next three hours consisted off. He trained himself in moving the blade around, and trying to link his touch with the Force to help him control the lightsaber easier. He listened to the instructions and did his best to match them. The lightsaber sliced through empty air and cut through imaginary enemies. The lightsaber could cut anything, except another lightsaber and a material called cortosis ore.

All the while training, the unanswered questions about the difference between Kjoil and Jedi and the reason for the tattoos on the hands and lightsabers of the Kjoil kept resurfacing. And the onslaught of knowing he might never find the answers ruined his self-esteem.

Why was he here then? Why had he been put into life if there was no way he could be that man that all signs pointed to that he would be? He couldn't just sit down and give up like Lwen, and he was determined to prove himself not a coward. But there was no road that could lead him there.

And Skar was tired of waiting for a sign.

* * *

Once he grew tired and concluded his training for the night, Skar took a public-lift down to one of the lowest levels of Nar Shaddaa. The level was known as The End since it was the last level that had any business, the levels below it were only havens for those who hid and those who scavenged their way through life. Skar had never been down there nor did he have any wish to go. It was not for normal men, it was a place for psychotics and lunatics. To go there was to desire a mugging or an ambush by either murderers or thieves. Even the security forces, the little which Nar Shaddaa had, didn't go down there.

Skar crossed through a couple of alleys before reaching his destination. He'd visited the tavern before in the twilight hours of the night, hanging out and avoiding going home. His lightsaber tucked inside his belt out of sight and the Holocron likewise hidden, he stepped inside the dusty bar. A wooden sign was dangling over the entrance.

The One-Legged Rancor.

Skar walked in as silently and as casual as he knew how. Immediately the humidity got to him and the odor of alcohol, sweat, smoke and something smelling like a mixture of all three hit him. He chose to breathe through his mouth instead, making the stench more bearable. All eyes gazed on him for two seconds, but it was the longest two seconds of his life. The mutter of talking died out as everyone inspected him, examining him as a threat or unworthy. He tried to look undeterred, like he'd been to the place several times before and was used to hanging out in a bar. Only the first part was true but certainly not the second part, the stench still got to him every time.

All the eyes resumed to their prior occupation, card games, smoking and drinking, signing him off as unimportant. The continuing mutter of drunken talk resumed, and Skar exhaled happily.

As far as he could see, only one person hadn't taken his glare off him. A humanoid sitting way in the back. The man stared right through him, like he knew how scared Skar had just been. It wasn't uncommon to think that the man had suffered the treatment Skar had when he'd entered. In some bars humans were unappreciated, in same way as droids were unwanted, but Skar had frequented this particular bar before and had never had any difficulty before. He made his way over to the bar. He didn't plan on drinking, but it would look suspicious if he just sat in a corner and didn't drink anything. Lwen had taught him all about acting natural in specific environments.

Skar picked up his beverage and strolled to an empty booth in the far end of the bar. It took a lot of strength on his part to not stare back at the other occupants of the bar. He felt like he had been put in the middle of life and all sides of the universe were staring at him, and he too was staring out at every corner of life and culture that existed. Every soul in the bar was either talking to a companion, sleeping over the table, or calmly slouched over a drink, contemplating something Skar could only guess at.

He found the establishment suitable for a place to stay while he gathered the guts to look Lwen in the eyes again. Skar only hoped his uncle had sobered up and was reasonable again by the time it would happen.

Drink in hand he walked to the back of the bar and was about to seat himself, when a large alien blocked his way and pushed him back roughly with a furred paw. Skar looked over the huge bulk of the juggernaut who held the paw on his chest, pushing him away from his seat. The alien was a foot taller than himself, covered in fur, and three times as wide. And to add to the scare, tiny claws protruded from its fingers, sharpened on purpose it seemed. He could feel the tiny claws digging through the fabric on his chest, resting against his ribs. The head was twice the size of Skar's and had four horns, one at each temple and two on top of the scalp. Slobbering fangs were dripping saliva down the sides of the huge mouth.

And it would seem this particular alien hunted in packs. Skar looked around the alien's huge bulk and saw two other aliens, of another species, centering around him and blocking any chance of him leaving the bar.

The furred one began poking his chest with a single claw, speaking in a low very animal-like growl. "In here we don't want you."

Skar recognized the species. A Sakval. He'd never seen one of those in this bar before. Thinking it would be best not to start mocking the alien's poor use of Basic, Skar set himself and tried to emit confidence. "Why is that?"

"Humans Imperials," the alien growled, "we have no love for Empire."

Skar looked around and saw that no other humans were inside the bar, the man who'd stared at him when he'd entered had disappeared mysteriously in the meantime, maybe they'd already gotten to him. All he could see were aliens of different races, species and variations. It was a common stigma that humans were always suspected as being Imperial officers or agents because the Empire only accepted humans into their ranks. "I-I hate the Empire too. I just want a place to sit down."

The large alien snarled and leaned his head down to place his slobbering mouth in front of Skar's face. Menacingly sharp teeth oozing with saliva was all Skar could see.

"Sit in the street."

Skar swallowed.

And going against the only rule Lwen had given him about the lightsaber, his free hand flew inside his cloak and pulled it out. Instead of igniting it, he merely placed the pommel under the alien's chin. Overthrown by his move, the Sakval glanced down confusingly at the weapon it was being threatened with. The two others stepped closer, eager to save their comrade, but halted when Skar moved his finger up over the ignition switch. They recognized the weapon.

_Why am I doing this? _he thought briefly, but hoped his fear wouldn't show on his face.

The furred alien snarled in anger but accepted surrender. "Drink, then you leave."

Skar dared to smile and pressed the lightsaber's pommel harder against the alien's chin. "And I want to be left alone."

The alien swallowed, the lump in his throat touching the lightsaber. "Of course."

Skar removed the lightsaber from the alien's throat and watched as the aliens left the bar. Hopefully all of them would forget him soon enough, but he doubted it deeply. Skar brushed off the fear and seated himself in the dark booth. All the occupants of the bar were looking at him, a couple even raised their glass in a cheer, but Skar ignored them. Apparently they were as impressed as he was by the fact he was still alive. Although feeling happy that he had another victory under his belt, he still thanked fate that it hadn't come to violence.

_I don't want to fight anyone. There is a time for fighting and a time for running. Different circumstances. Running makes me feel like a coward, but then again, Death is always worth running from. If only Lwen understood that I'm not a coward - _

"This seat taken?"

Skar looked up to see a man, although his first impression was that this man was no more than a few years older than himself and Skar had not chosen to label himself a man yet. Skar recognized the guy, it was the one that'd given him the stare when he'd stepped inside the bar, the one that had disappeared when the aliens challenged him. His long brown hair was greased and his clothes were laced with dust and rain. Dressed in a long dark coat and under it a tight gray bodysuit, a deadly looking blaster hung just below his hip, strapped to his thigh. His strong jaw was covered with a gritty stubble and a few scars ran here and there, though none too deep.

Despite his rough appearance, Skar's impression of the tall and rank man was that he matched the very definition of strength and self-assuredness. Like a soldier or a mercenary. As for the clothes the man looked like a vagrant but Skar promised himself not to mention that out loud. The man wore an expression that could not be described in a single word. It was more like I've-seen-the-world-and-didn't-like-what-I-saw-but-I-survived. The unpleased bitter look of his mouth conflicted with the careful hope burning behind his eyes.

Before Skar could send him on his way, the man, uninvited, seated himself across from Skar and a servant-droid delivered a mug of ale before him. "Consider yourself lucky, kid; last week the guy they went after didn't walk away. Maybe if he had your guts, he would've still been alive."

Skar looked at the bar entrance, glad to know the aliens had left the bar. "They stayed away from you?"

The man shook his head. "No, a few days ago they decided I was the next in line," he took a big gulp of ale, wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Back then there were four of them." The man winked.

Skar remained composed. "I just wanted to be alone."

The man smiled like a predator. "You sound like someone who's never been in a fight but knows he will someday. You're worried you won't be able to pull the trigger when the time comes?"

Skar opened his mouth but didn't talk. The man let his hand fall down on the blaster on his hip, and caressed it like a pet. Then he scouted the tavern, clearing searching for enemies. "Whenever you have enemies, you either end up pointing a blaster at someone, or someone points a blaster at you, kid. I saw the weapon you pulled on that Sakval."

Skar felt the weight of the lightsaber hanging on his belt like a burden.

The man smiled again and looked around the bar. "I followed you here, kid. Actually I've been following you for a few days now. Ever since I saw you in the Lower Levels. On the bridge."

Skar felt as if his entire body lost form and he dissolved into a puddle of shock and confusion. "You - " He couldn't finish the sentence. He recalled feeling watched, though. "You were watching me?"

"I also followed you to the tower just now, before you came here." The man returned his gaze to Skar, and turned his voice into a whisper, raising a single eyebrow. "You stole it, right? You're no Jedi."

"And what if I am?"

The man stared at Skar for a while and then shook his head lightly. "No, I don't buy it. Sorry."

Skar smiled shrewdly back at the man. "You're right. I'm not." He leaned forward in his seat, raised his left hand, reached out to the Force. The man's drink left his side of the table and flew into Skar's hand. "I'm something else."

* * *

Time fell out of Skar's grasp and he lost a handful of hours in the bar, yet the interior of it remained as lively, noisy and bright as it had when Skar had walked in. In the company of the mysterious stranger Skar talked enthusiastic about the Force and Jedi. But the later part of the discussion slowly drifted into incomprehension for Skar. Though he thought of himself as strong, his willpower was fighting a losing battle against Corellian liquor.

Three empty glasses stood on the table in front of him and Skar felt dazedly embarrassed. His head was swimming and he could hardly keep himself upright. It was a disappointment since he never got drunk and he certainly hadn't planned on it when he walked inside the bar.

The need for solitude had vanished, however, and he found himself engulfed in a conversation, perhaps one that would take him in the right direction. This man, who still hadn't revealed his name or purpose, seemed to know his way around Jedi, and Skar sucked it all up.

Along with the liquor.

Skar played with his empty glass. "When I touch things, I see its pasts. Like this glass," he held it up in the light, "I can tell you about the last four people who've drunk from it. I can also tell you that it hasn't been cleaned in between them."

"Its a Jedi-trait."

"Not cleaning them?"

The man laughed. "No. The psychometry part of it."

Skar's busy fingers couldn't stop fumbling with his glass, knocking it over and nearly breaking it. "It doesn't feel like magic," he raised the glass back up but it took more than one try. "It wasn't something I did on purpose. It just…comes to me. Out of nothing. Something takes over my mind and acts on its own."

The man frowned. "Who ever said Jedi were magicians? Everything mysterious is magic to you?"

Skar shrugged. "Well, not everything."

The man blinked. "Kid, things exist in life that you can't see, hear or even touch. There is more than the physical form of life."

Skar sat on his fingers to keep them from messing with the glass. "Like the Force?"

The man shrugged. "Yeah, but it doesn't stop there. Some think life is meaningless, yet they still strive to stay alive, but to what end? If life is meaningless, why live at all?"

Skar pondered. "The little things?"

The man smiled. "Are they worth it in the long run?"

Skar guessed he wasn't qualified to answer that question since his life hadn't exactly been filled with any kinds of little things that made life bearable. "I guess not."

"To live without a goal is cowardice. The majority of living beings believe in some form of super-being or super-energy that has given life its form. Something made life, Skar. No matter what religion or what belief you have, you can't deny that life is constructed. It didn't just pop out of thin air. And if something or someone, whatever religion you hold, went out of its way to create life, we have to imagine it was for a purpose."

The man laughed, but with some hesitation. "Anyone who thinks life has no meaning, isn't worth the gift of life at all. They just need to open their eyes to all the life around them. Look at this place, Skar," the man gestured to the other occupants of the tavern, "you're sitting in a room with beings from all over the Galaxy. In different shapes and forms, but all of them need to have the same faith in existence. Everyone has an idea of what the purpose in life is, and they operate from that idea to meet their goal."

The man scratched his beard, as he made his real point. "The Jedi were not magicians, they just have access to a power-source that others don't. Perhaps they were those who were closest to realizing the ultimate purpose of life. The ultimate goal."

Skar snickered. "Is that what you're looking for? The ultimate goal of life? Good luck."

The man's blue eyes fixed on Skar, and silenced his snickering. "You're not listening to me."

Skar blushed. "Sorry."

"Everyone looks for something they are not sure exists," the man looked out at the bar again, "and though very few find what they're looking for, they find other truths along the way. You do not _find _the meaning of your life, you learn it."

Skar nodded and though he was still affected by the liquor, he could sense truth in those words that went beyond intoxication. Convinced by the words of the stranger, that Jedi weren't magicians, it only presented another problem for Skar. Skar had never, and he was dead sure of this, believed in any religion or any facet of one neither.

He had never had faith in a higher being or even pondered if such was really true. Being raised on the chaotic world of Nar Shaddaa had also made him sure that even if there was an afterlife, be it a hell or an empty void of nothing, it couldn't stand up to be even remotely as terrifying as Nar Shaddaa. But if the Force was a religion or a faith, that meant you'd have to believe in it. You'd have to trust it, and truly have faith that it was not just a hoax.

Religions usually implied praying or sacrificing, either material possession or aspects of one self, but Skar didn't know how the Force worked. The use he'd have of it, only appeared to him when he concentrated and focused very hard, or sometimes out of nowhere. The two were of very different methods and it made Skar wonder if one of them was wrong or incorrect. When he used psychometry it needed no effort, his body absorbed knowledge naturally, but telekinesis required strong efforts of the mind.

Also there had been the incident on the bridge where he'd felt the very structure of the universe inside him and received emotions from all around him. A touch at the very fabric that held the Galaxy together. An enlightenment of all life and a true moment of contained power within.

That was something he longed to feel again. He remembered feeling pride in himself and feeling victorious. His self-confidence and belief in himself had opened himself to the Force. So control and trust were key-elements. If you believed it, you could do it. He'd opened himself up to it and the touch of it was awe-inspiring, a wonderful feeling of warmth and feeding to his hungering.

Like a blade it had cut through him but not with pain; but with strength, courage, and confidence. Filling every hollow shadow of him with light and consuming every doubt. Conquering fear, pain and hate. Devouring doubt and breeding hope.

He knew how to use psychometry and telekinesis, but the feeling on the bridge led him to believe he had more abilities waiting for him to find. He'd almost felt them, felt as if they were in reach. But then only to vanish like snow melting in the sun. The effect had only been temporarily. The moment he concentrated on holding the feeling, it vanished as if it had never been. And Skar was himself again, and again in doubt and confusion.

If only he knew how to consciously tap into the Force - how to make it unfold. Then he would know his purpose.

Hours went by soaked in alcohol and confusion. The man went on forever, talking about goals in life and religions, going over all the religions he knew and explaining them in great detail. And all though it had been all that filled his mind only hours earlier, the consumption of alcohol and the lateness of the hour took away all interest. Skar cared for none of them, except when the man said words like "Force" or "Jedi". Skar began to feel bored but didn't say it to the man. He was tired and wanted to sleep. But the man just wouldn't stop talking.

"The Jedi were highly revered through the time of the Republic. People sought to them for answers and help. Everyone thought that they knew the answer to everything, because they could tap into their energy, an energy only linked to them," the man smiled, "while you may think they were just magicians, you have to remember you have some of them in you. And that you too have a purpose in life - "

"Enough," Skar groaned wearily, trying to break free of the stupor. Skar found himself bombarded with responsibility worse than anything he had ever had to endure. The man seemed to love giving dramatic, not to mention long, speeches, but this time he was just irritating.

It was too much and he was too drunk. "Look, its not that I don't appreciate you sharing what you know, but its late. I'm tired, I've had too much too drink - I can't think straight anymore. I gotta be getting home."

"Home to what?" the man asked casually.

"Home to - " Skar looked at the man and saw mischief there. Did he know? Did he know about Lwen and that he didn't really want to go home? "I just…"

"Of course you do," the man smiled, sipping the last of the ale into his mouth, wiping it off with his sleeve. "And I'm not offended. All I'm trying to teach you is life is grand. Life is not measured in the number of breaths we take, but the moments that take our breath away. Listen to your heart when something sounds right and you'll be alright."

Skar looked at the wise stranger. "My heart, huh?"

When they left the One-Legged Rancor late in the night, yet early in the morning, Nar Shaddaa seemed to have woken up by a smaller margin. Small, as well as larger, ships were visible in the overhanging dark sky, drifting carelessly, but there still wasn't any sign of the usual bustling activity as present in the daytime. A few light fixtures illuminated the street outside the bar. Skar tried through all his drunkenness to be careful and to spy for any muggers, but the alleys were too dark and the visibility was not in his favor. His feet shifted consistently and he wallowed back and forth.

The Jedi-expert, as Skar began to think of him, came walking out casually behind him, calmly wrapping his heavy coat around him. The man scratched his beard and didn't even look up from adjusting his boots to inspect the alleys and streets. He just took in the air and said, "no danger."

Skar lifted an eyebrow. "How do you know?"

"I've never been mugged."

Skar raised his arms in drunken fury. "Well, I have! Its not fun!"

The man laughed. "Skar, go home." The mystery man pointed down the opposite street. "I'm going that way."

Skar nodded, but felt something pulling at him. "Will I see you again?" Skar asked, "I need to talk to you. You know more than me. You can help me."

The man was silent for a few seconds, contemplating. "You're serious about the Jedi life?"

Skar's eyes widened. He thought it was obvious. "Wouldn't you be? If you had it in you, wouldn't you want to know what it's all about?"'

The man's eyes shifted, unfocused, they were looking somewhere beyond the space around them, perhaps peering into the past. "I've made that choice long ago. And I don't regret it." The man nodded a farewell gesture. "I'll find you again. Then I'll tell you more about the Force. Until then, may destiny be in your favor."

The man turned and left as mysteriously as he had entered Skar's life. Skar wanted to yell at him or shout goodbye, but the realization that the man had left came too late. Disappointed and feeling deserted, Skar spat on the street before choosing to go home. Skar made his way the fastest way he knew to the lift that would take him back up to his level. The alcohol made it difficult for him since his feet seemed to have a will of their own, forcing him off course but after tumbling over a couple of times he made it to the lift.

He touched the switch and the lift rose through the lowest levels of Nar Shaddaa. _I wonder who he was. I've never met anyone besides Lwen who knows anything about Jedi. But this guy seemed to know more than even Lwen. _Skar realized he was starting to fall asleep while standing up, and slapped his cheek to wake up. His face felt warm and every time he concentrated on one thing, something else took over. He felt slightly euphoric, light and yet heavy in his gut. _Lwen will kill me for getting home this late. _

The lift chimed and the doors slid open. The streets were marginally cleaner on the higher levels, but still not close to being hygienic, not by human standards anyway. And the streets on this level were homes for beggars whose outreached hands pleaded for him to stop, so they could make him feel guilty, and charitable, by telling him sob-stories about their lost families or dead children.

Skar had learned to ignore the comments, realizing even if he wanted to donate money to the poor, he didn't have any on him. Infact he may have been much poorer than them. Nar Shaddaa had that influence on him as well as everyone else he knew. The untold rules of surviving Nar Shaddaa revolved around acting poor and to look as non-wealthy as possible. Skar fit that profile well, he figured.

He caught a glimpse of his own reflection an a nearby window and scowled at what he saw there. A disheveled ragged boy with filthy hair, slick with day old sweat and grease, long due for a wash. Sleeves way too long for his gangly arms. Shoes that fell off after five steps if he didn't remind himself to put his heel down right. Baggy pants which only kept him decent because of a homemade belt.

All of his clothes were leftovers from Lwen's wardrobe, things Lwen couldn't fit anymore. It never bothered Skar, he wasn't used to luxury or high standards. He was just happy to have lived, or maybe _survived _was more accurate, this long. Not many people lasted as long as he had on Nar Shaddaa. And the whole act of pretending to be poor wasn't that difficult for him. He was just fed up with knowing it wasn't an act.

It was the truth.

His thoughts of poverty drowned out in his weary mind and he continued to obsess about the mysterious stranger in the bar. He'd been boring to listen to, Skar blamed that on his need for sleep and the alcohol, but his points had gotten through. _He may have been schooled to learn about Jedi, he must have been educated, but where and why does one educate oneself in an extinct race like the Jedi? He didn't look like a teacher, not that I've ever seen one. He was too… rough. Too rough around the edges. He seemed like someone who'd seen the greater things in life, and the lowest of its terrors. Someone who had seen it all. Someone who'd stared death in the eyes and spit in its face. He was so cool and precise. _

Skar began to realize he wasn't just thinking about the man, he was idolizing. _I won't deny, I wish I could seem as confident and secure as he did. Instead of having to live with fear, and hiding behind poverty. _Skar pieced more bits of the puzzle together_. He was armed, he had a blaster. He must be used to combat, and that's not how a teacher or a student lives. If he carried a weapon he must have been a mercenary or a bodyguard. Probably a bounty hunter. _

Skar wanted the impression on others that the man had on him. Strike confidence as well as fear in those who would oppose him. It was all a projection, he was just seeing things in others that he wanted to have himself. The man seemed so in control on the outside, but like any other he could have been hiding his feelings and problems beneath a cover of false confidence. The man possessed the confidence that Skar hoped to one day own. To have experience in his possession and be able to use that knowledge in his future days. To have seen most of the world, the _worst _of the world, and still find some reason to go on fighting.

Skar had heard the man lecture on aspects of life such as the meaning of life and the goals in one's life. But to Skar they were the same and he agreed with the man that one person's mission or goal in life didn't have to be the same of another man. Each individual was born with their own destiny, and the meaning of life was not universal, but individual.

Skar looked at the beggars at his feet and the others scouring in the corners, begging for food or credits. What was their purpose? Were they without destiny? And if they weren't, why did their fate seem to involve living on the street?

_What is my purpose? What is my destiny? Am I part of the mystery man's mission? _

_Or is the mystery man part of my - _

A fist came flying out of nowhere and punched Skar's stomach in. He went down like a heavy bag and struggled for air. The second fist to his side relieved him of all the alcohol he'd drunk on the face of the street. He tasted vomit all the way down his throat and heaved again.

As he tried to lift himself up to fight back, a punch came down on his jaw, permanently flattening him on the street and coloring the pavement in a crimson red.

Skar clung his arms to the pit of his stomach, thinking he could somehow make the pain go away if he held onto where it hurt the most. He wiped blood from his mouth with a free hand and saw two aliens standing over him, rubbing blood from their knuckles. The same aliens from the bar, as he had already guessed. The third, the Sakval he had threatened with the lightsaber, came up between them with a vicious smile.

"I smash your teeth, then feed them to you."

The alien kept his promise. He kicked Skar's face in with his boot. The pain was staggering, ripping at his entire being and invaded his mind with razor sharp aches and thundering agony. At first the pain was slow, but gradually it filled his mind. It filled his brain, making him think it would burst. Skar rolled over and spat the blood away from running into his mouth. Then the Sakval kicked again with his blooddrenched boot. The pain had doubled in intensity now. His mind was expecting the same pain from the first kick, but it was stronger now, harder, and more direct. The pain shot straight through him, filling him with inner torment.

The two other aliens, his mind couldn't catalogue them anymore, joined in. One of them pulled him up while the other two took turns in kicking and punching him repeatedly. Between punches, Skar caught a glimpse of his lightsaber lying behind the aliens on the street. It must have fallen from his belt.

When they took a breather from the beating, his eyes held it strong, not letting it out of sight, though the tears had blurred up its image. He could feel the weapon, its sense in his head, and in his hand. It was as if he held it already, as if it wasn't out of reach. The amount of pain broke him, causing his mind to forget the lightsaber ever existed and concentrated on nothing but pain. He couldn't focus his thoughts or his senses. Everything was disorientated.

Everything was pain.

All he could feel, was the pain filling his every being. Even as the pain began to dim with the rest of the world, he started wishing he would die a quick death, but realized he wouldn't be that lucky. Skar tried to scream but no air came to his lungs and he realized it might never enter his lungs again.

The beating slowed down but not because of lack of interest; the aliens were simply worn out from mutilating him. They left him lying on the ground, bleeding and crying, while they stood back, congratulating each other and padded each other on the shoulder, the way co-workers did when they'd performed good teamwork. The Sakval he'd threatened in the bar broke the bond and walked over to Skar to let off one last punch that smashed Skar's head down into the street.

The others cheered.

Skar spat more blood from his mouth and his eyes watered up in tears.

_I don't want to die! _

Cold wind rushed through him and his body quivered. Suddenly a familiar metallic object appeared from somewhere and slammed into his palm. Skar looked down to see the lightsaber inside his hand. But getting the lightsaber quickly revealed itself to be the easiest part, now he needed only the hardest part.

_You're worried you won't be able to pull the trigger when the time comes?_

But before he even got that far to pose a threat to them, the aliens saw the weapon in his hand and the beating continued. One of the aliens grabbed the lightsaber from his hand in the confusion and tossed it down the alley, clearly not interested in it.

Muffled voices, blurred faces and constant pain was all there was for a long time. He caught fragments of their words and glimpses of their faces, but nothing more. Skar began to delve inside the pain, hoping he would find peace there.

_"…that weapon…what was that?… "_

He heard a laughter, thinking it would be the last sound he would ever hear.

_"…an antique… "_

And the punch came, that sent him into the darkest sleep he'd ever had in his life.

* * *

The shadow man was lost in his own thoughts, contemplating his next move when he felt the pain coming from Skar. His boots came to a halt in the alleyway and he turned around to face where he'd come from. He could feel the boy in that direction, could feel his fear. Distinct but very alive.

_I don't want to die!_

The shadow man leapt off the street and launched himself five stories onto the nearest roof, and from there up to the next, passing through many levels of Coruscant, searching out the boy through his pain.

* * *

Out of the darkness came hopelessness and with it surrender. He awoke hazily and memories slowly crept back into his mind, and when they did he wished he'd stayed asleep. He didn't know how long he had slept. It felt like forever. Pain had engulfed his every single bone, muscle and thought. Even opening his mouth to vent the feeling, made him ache a hundred times more. The hurt hummed like a lightsaber with every breath he took. He tasted blood. It filled the inside of his mouth and he tried his best to cough it out, so he wouldn't drown, though wishing he hadn't since each cough felt like a knife-stab into his side.

Voices were chuckling at his misery not too far away, and Skar almost found enough strength to hate them for it.

"Shouldn't we tie him up?"

"Nah, he's useless without his lightsaber."

Their voices were lost when a ringing in his ears drowned them out. For moments it was all he could hear, beside his internal screaming and cursing. His eyes were fighting to open, but pain never allowed him to open more than a slit, which wasn't nearly enough. Darkness was clouding inside his eyelids and small stars moved around like swarming flies inside his head.

_I'm…dying._

He felt like it, he tried to move his hand, but couldn't tell if it was working, it had no feeling. The sensation reminded him of being trapped, of being tied down and unable to move.

Then, a whisper.

_The hell you are._

Skar couldn't see him, but he knew the voice. He finally got his eyes opened, but was crestfallen to see only the three aliens, leaning against the alley-wall, apparently waiting for something. It was still night. He couldn't have been passed out for more than a couple of hours, maybe only minutes. Skar looked for the voice of the man he'd heard inside his head but he was nowhere near. Skar was alone with the aliens. He anticipated more beatings soon enough and his only prayer was that this time they would get it right, and that he would die.

He saw the furred Sakval leaning over him, the alien pulled him up by his collar, preparing to land a punch in his face. And Skar closed his eyes, not wanting to see the punch come, wishing only for it to end.

But the punch never landed.

"Why are you boys out looking for trouble?"

Skar reopened his eyes, ignoring the stabbing pain, to see the man standing in an alley leading into the street he was lying on. A hope bloomed inside Skar at the sight of the man's face, radiating smug confidence. His coat was open and the blaster was in plain sight. Skar took notice that none of the aliens had blasters. The aliens walked away from Skar and started to gang up on the man.

"You!" the Sakval seemed to recognize him.

The man calmly spread his feet apart, striking a warrior's stance, his one boot sinking down into a puddle. A grin darkened his face. "A wise man once taught me a very good lesson," he reached inside the darkness of his coat's fold and retrieved a short metallic handle. "If you keep seeking," the handle hissed to life in a long blue shaft that hummed with intensity, "you will find."

The aliens roared in unison and charged forward, their claws ready to rip the man apart. The Jedi hunched down, as if to gather strength, before leaping high above the aliens, kicking off the shoulder of one to give him more elevation. Skar admitted he was faint but he could have sworn that Jedi stayed in the air for tens of seconds. It seemed to take forever before gravity noticed his defiance.

In the air he raised the lightsaber above his head, smashing it down through the alien that was furthest from where he'd jumped as he touched down, bisecting the alien straight down the middle from head to groin. But even before the alien had begun to fall, the Jedi swirled on his kneecap executing a perfect horizontal slash behind him, leaving the alien in four smoking pieces that tumbled like cards in the wind.

The Jedi faced the remaining aliens, his face like stone as he slowly held out his free hand to wave them forward, challenging them.

Beyond all sense, the aliens accepted the challenge. The remainder of the battle was all a blur. It was the first time he watched a Jedi yield a lightsaber in real life, and Skar began to understand the complexity of the movements, but also the perfection of it. It seemed the Jedi already knew what the attackers would do, before they even knew. The Jedi was calm, cool, and precise. His strategy relied only on letting his enemies come to him, where he would have the advantage. His movements were so fast that Skar couldn't keep track of him in the blur of the fight.

Only a blue light stuck out in all the chaos, lit the clearing in its gloom, a light that disembodied limbs and produced smoking wounds on alien flesh.

The Jedi Knight came leaping out of the fight and Skar was surprised to see that the two aliens were still breathing. One of them, the Sakval, had a burning wound where his right arm once had been. The other held his paw against the pit of his stomach to stop the burning flesh from hurting.

But Skar was too mesmerized by the Jedi's performance to feel horrified by their wounds. His blue eyes were determined and unafraid, burning with resolution and confidence. He had no wounds at all and looked unaffected, though by Skar's opinion he should have been worn down and out of breath.

Skar also began to realize the Jedi was toying with the aliens. There was an air of enjoyment to the Jedi's playful moves and the fact that he did not kill when he could. His blade hovered at his side, and he just waited for them to come within reach.

The two remaining aliens were still fearless and lunged for him. The man sidestepped to the right as the closest ran past him and drove his lightsaber though flesh, muscles and bones. With a finishing swipe the screaming alien had his spine severed by flaming blue light.

The last alien, the Sakval, roared in rage and came at him with the claws on its remaining arm. The man swirled to his left and struck with a wide clean cut across the belly of the Sakval as it reached him, finishing off the cut with a vertical up-to-down slice, cleaving the alien's only remaining arm at the shoulder. The bloodied arm fell to the ground smoking with burnt fur.

The alien was on its knees, roaring horridly in pain and partly in anger. Though it could have been just a mercy kill, the Jedi showed no sympathy as he completed his swirl and decapitated the alien with one powerful swing of the blue blade, cleaving through neck-tissue. The alien's head bounced off the street a few times before rolling into a puddle of rain. The alley stank of burnt hair.

The man cleared away the lightsaber and walked calm as ever over to Skar. The man brushed back the dark hair in his face and helped Skar stand. "Can you walk?"

Skar nodded slowly, careful not to overuse the sore muscles in his neck. His skeleton felt like it had been thrown off a skyscraper. "You - you're a Jedi too?"

* * *

The next minutes passed without words as the Jedi healed Skar's body using the Force. Skar's body recovered thanks to the treatment though his limbs were still sore and it ached when he moved too quickly. It only empowered Skar's theory that there were more abilities than psychometry and telekinesis, healing became a gift Skar hoped he would learn someday. It only matched his desire to help people through his heritage.

All the time while the Jedi treated him, Skar caught glimpses of his lightsaber under the Jedi's coat and he had to admit it didn't look as fancy as his own. It looked like a common tool, like a wrench, it had no symbols or markings like his and the mystery grew thicker as Skar's theory of all Jedi lightsabers being marked was destroyed.

The Jedi noticed his curious look. "What's the matter?"

Skar talked slowly to not invite any pain to his jaw. "Your lightsaber. It doesn't look like mine. I know each Jedi makes his own to fit him, but yours has no markings."

The Jedi looked contemplative as he finished up mending Skar's wounds. "Not all Jedi have markings on their lightsaber. Myself, I don't care for it. A lightsaber is a tool for self-defense, not to show off."

The treatment was over and Skar felt like a new man. The Jedi Knight helped him up and Skar, filled with morbid curiosity, walked carefully over to one of the corpses and bowed down to look at it. He should have been repulsed but something inside him kept him eager, something told him he would see a lot of blood and fighting if the future he wanted should come true. He saw dark blood leaking from the alien's stomach and only then noticed that the street around him had puddles of dark fluid that wasn't rain, it was blood.

Skar closed his eyes and tried to make sense of it all. "A Jedi kills only in self-defense, but you were never in any danger. These weren't a threat to you."

"They were a threat to you." The man shrugged. "A Jedi is also supposed to help the innocent."

"I know. In the days of the Republic, they were protectors of the people." Skar rose. "The Republic is dead now. I'm not important to you. You hardly know me."

The man's blue eyes narrowed. "I know you better than you think. And I had good reason to help you."

Skar turned to him. "What?"

The man peered into the sky. "The Republic _is _dead. Dead and buried. That doesn't make me wanna give up. It makes me work harder."

"But you're just one man?" Saying it Skar realized he was repeating Lwen from earlier and suddenly understood what Lwen had been trying to say. He wished he could take back the question because he already knew what the man would say.

"What do you want me to do? Lay down and die, Skar? I may only be one, but I can still make a difference. I can still help people. There's no peace in death, Skar. A man who lives his life without reaching his goal is a fool."

Skar nodded. The difference between them was that this man was skilled and trained enough so that his abilities might actually help, whereas Skar's were still undeveloped. "And what is your goal?"

The man didn't take a second to think about it. "Order."

Skar's head couldn't keep up. Even though he admired and respected the Jedi, even idolized him, something just didn't fit in with his perspective.

Skar's hand pointed out the carnage of bodies and blood on the street behind him. "How is this order? How is this respectable or honorable in any way? How is this glorious? Why is murder order?"

The man shrugged uneasily. "You don't have enough experience to see it yet."

Skar wasn't going to let him get away that easy. "Don't give me that."

Scoffing, the Jedi turned his back to Skar and clipped the lightsaber from his belt. He stared at it, as if it somehow held the answer. "This, it has saved my life many times. But as many times as it has saved my life, as many times has it taken it from others. It wasn't easy for me the first time I killed someone. The first time was the worst. To know that you'd just taken a life. That you'd decided that your own life mattered more than someone else. That you saw yourself as more important in the grander scheme of things than the one you killed." The Jedi sighed and clipped the lightsaber back on his belt. "When I take a life, its always in self-defense and in protection of the innocent. With each life I take, I'm saving another, or maybe two others. Its not easy to know where its right and where its wrong, but the will to survive is so strong that moral never becomes a problem. You forget about the sin." The man smiled. "You can't exactly reason with guys like that, or appeal to their good nature. Self-preservation is the key."

It made sense. Staring Death in the eyes made it clear that you'd have to act if you didn't want to get swallowed by it. Preservation; that was a key Skar had overlooked. To kill was not evil in self-defense or in defense of others. And as wrong as it sounded, neither was murder. The moment you took a life in defense, it wasn't killing, it wasn't murder; it was survival and that was never wrong.

Skar looked over the corpses and felt guilty. The Jedi stranger had just saved his life, and he was questioning his actions? Skar felt ashamed. "I'm sorry about judging you. I just… don't like killing." Skar looked him in the eyes. "Thank you for saving me."

The Jedi sat down where Skar had been beaten, leaning up against the wall, looking strung out from explaining what was clearly not easy for him to talk about. "No problem."

Skar continued. "You're a hero."

The Jedi held out his palms. "Stop, okay?" He smiled after that. "In my line of work, if you want to live, you're gonna have to fight for it."

"I guess it does," Skar said timidly.

Skar found himself being convinced by the stranger's words. Skar hated it but the man was growing on him, he was very intelligent although his theories were out of experiences that Skar hadn't earned. So the codex he lived by didn't have to apply to Skar. Skar promised himself he would do his best to try and prove that killing wasn't always the answer. Reasoning with your attacker didn't sound like it was gonna work, but perhaps there was something that had been overlooked. Some way of ending conflict without bloodshed.

But right now, something gnawed at Skar that really needed an answer. "Hey. What's your name anyway?"

The man raised his head and smiled. He then walked over to the corpse with the severed head. "Names don't matter in my field of business. I only know a handful of people, so I've never had to introduce myself much. But those people who I value, and I think you just joined that club, call me Kayupa."

"Kayupa," Skar said to himself. He didn't know why but somehow the Jedi had clicked something inside Skar's head, and he realized it had ever since back in the bar. _Maybe because he looks so much like what I imagined a Jedi to be. And he acts the way a Jedi should act. He's perfect. _Skar's sub-consciousness noticed that Kayupa hadn't called him "kid" like he'd done before. "Kayupa. Is that your real name?"

Kayupa shook his head and picked up something from the corpse. He held it up to the light and Skar saw that it was an identification card. "I have no name. No one ever named me. My parents abandoned me. I've named myself."

Skar wanted to ask more, but he heard voices nearby. Kayupa heard them too. He crossed over to Skar and grabbed hold of his shoulders. "We don't have much time. You don't belong here in this place. You belong with me. If you want to become a Jedi, now is your only chance."

"I don't know if I'm ready."

Kayupa understood that but didn't give up. "Everything begins with a choice, Skar. The strength comes later. But you must choose now. If you choose not to, I'm gone. I leave tonight." Kayupa stepped forward and Skar's lightsaber came flying from the shadows into Kayupa's hand; he offered it to Skar. "I'm going somewhere, Skar. Come with me."

Skar's fingers were nervously shaking and his skin felt cold. Somewhere deep inside him he'd been waited for something like this moment to happen. To see other worlds, to visit strange places, experience all the Galaxy had to offer and had hidden from him so far. In his mind it had always been his father that had come to get him and take him away on some great adventure, not a complete stranger.

Nevertheless it was what he wanted. He couldn't abandon this knowledge, people had gone to great lengths and sacrifices to make sure he became a Jedi, that he took it upon himself this responsibility of pursuing an order that had been forgotten by normal people.

To be a Jedi was his destiny. He had to follow it. Even if it meant coming to terms with taking lives in the name of order and justice. The thought of the possibilities fed though him and powered his ego. This energy protected him. It became like a protective bubble. It reminded him of the sensation on the bridge.

And Skar knew that was a good sign. The Jedi's Force. It felt warm around his heart and it regained his strength. It made him strong. It made him brave.

Skar reached out and plucked the lightsaber from Kayupa's hand. "I'll go with you."

"I'll contact you later. I'll know where to find you." Kayupa padded him on the shoulder and began to walk away.

"Kayupa?"

The stranger, who now would become perhaps the most important person in his life and future, turned and looked at Skar.

"Thank you."

Kayupa smiled and waved it off. "Think nothing of it, you have work to do. Your life as a Jedi has just begun."

* * *

Skar dreaded going back home, he hadn't been home in almost a day and a half and was afraid of what he might find when he came home. If Lwen hadn't come to his senses, who was to tell what might have happened.

Skar wiped his face with his sleeve and stepped in. Off-hand his home seemed unchanged, the living room still looked like a mess, after Lwen had kicked the table to the other end and one of the chairs were knocked over.

But there was no sign of Lwen.

Skar lifted the chair and pulled the table back to its place, then he looked in Lwen's room and then his own, but the old man was not home. There was a blaster in the home, so if Lwen had contemplated suicide, he wouldn't have had to leave the apartment. He could have done it right here.

Skar searched the desk and the blaster was still there. He checked the cartridge and was relieved to find that it was still at full charge. No shots had been fired. Skar allowed himself a little smile when he figured out that if Lwen had committed suicide he wouldn't have been able to put it back in the drawer afterwards.

Skar turned around and walked to the kitchen -

He flinched at what he found. The kitchen was completely torn apart. A fight had taken place there. Utensils were scattered all over the floor, and a knife was carved into the wall. Pans laid here and there, dishes were shattered and ruined. One of the cabinets had been flung from the wall and now cradled in a pool of blood. The blood waved back and forth as the utensils floated across the surface like tiny ships. Shards of glasses laid about like small traps, and a pair of footprints were painted with blood and led to the window, which had been crashed through from the outside.

Skar bit his lower lip. Lwen was gone. Maybe not dead, but certainly in trouble. He sat down by the blood and as curious as a child, he played with it. Through psychometry he gained information about the blood, he could feel the thoughts of the person who had shed the blood. Skar even learned that the person who had shed the blood had also died from the cut. And the most important fact; it wasn't Lwen's blood.

He smeared the blood over his pants, drying it off. He walked over the blood puddle and looked out the window. Bloodied footprints on the stairwell had not yet been washed away by the rain, so it had happened recently.

Skar cursed. Lwen couldn't have disappeared at a worse time. Kayupa had promised to take him away from Nar Shaddaa. They'd finally found a way for them to get out of here.

A thought dawned on him. _If they were thieves why did they take him with them? Lwen was right about one thing, he isn't much here on Nar Shaddaa. Those guys on the bridge yesterday, they could have followed me. _

_And they took him to get to the Jedi._

_To me._

Skar held the lightsaber close and stepped back into the living room. From there he made it into his own room, and packed a bag with clothes. His hands moved fast, he had to get out of there before someone came back looking for him. Out of the corner of his eyes Skar caught a glance of himself in the mirror. A split lip. One of his eyes was puffed. He went back to the kitchen and splashed water in his face, washing away the dried blood.

_I'm **not **leaving Lwen behind. He's coming with me. _

With overcautious steps he made it out the front door, and hurried up the flight of stairs, past his own apartment and all the way to the roof. From there he had spent many nights staring at the stars glistening brightly above, and watched ships darting across space, hoping for a better world for himself but something told him there wasn't gonna be time for watching stars and ships now.

Behind him he spotted no one following him, but knew that didn't mean there weren't anyone there. Skar jumped the last set of stairs to get there faster but it only propelled him facedown in a rain puddle on the roof. Embarrassed by his own clumsiness, he raised himself on his hands, rain pouring off his face. His chest was soaked and the feeling of embarrasment sat well. Skar rose and reached for his lightsaber to check if it had gotten wet and corrupted, but it seemed fine.

"You know, pulling it out like that is what got your uncle kidnapped."

Startled by the voice Skar clipped the lightsaber from his belt as fast as he could and held it ready. Skar was relieved to see the voice belonged to Kayupa. The gritty Jedi had his hands on his hips and smiled.

Replacing the lightsaber in his belt, Skar wandered forward. "How did you know? What are you doing here?"

Kayupa waved him forth and they walked across the roof. Skar felt relieved that Kayupa was by his side again, to guide him. "It was the same guys from the bridge. They followed you home afterwards and when they couldn't get you, they took Lwen."

Skar tried to swallow the huge lump in his throat. "Is he dead?"

"They carried him out of there sedated, and carried one of their own out with a utensil stuck in his temple. Your uncle sure put up a fight."

Skar felt fairly proud of his uncle. "Sounds like him. You saw all this and didn't help him?"

"Not me, I was with you when it happened, but," Kayupa held out his arm to indicate a third person, dressed in hood and a black cloak, standing at the ledge of the roof, "he did."

Skar shuddered in surprise, he hadn't noticed the third person before. "Who is he?"

Kayupa seemed to think the question over for a long time. "He's a lot of things, but most importantly he's the answer to all the hopes you carry around inside your heart. He's the answer to all the questions you've never been able to answer."

Skar looked at Kayupa and back at the man. He felt his heart beating very fast.

"Go to him."

Reluctantly Skar took heavy steps to the edge of the roof where the cloaked man awaited him. Each step felt like a million, and he felt the rain washing coldly down his face. Skar didn't know what to expect, but he still made sure his lightsaber was within reach. He felt very uneasy and although he wanted to trust Kayupa, he admitted to himself that he really didn't know either of the two.

The third man's cloak waved in the air behind him like wings. Skar stood three feet from him and could still not see his face. The man's hands were hidden under the long sleeves of his black cloak. Skar had only seen religious folk and people who had something to hide wear that kind of cloak.

If Kayupa had taken him to a monk so he could learn about religion now, he could forget it. There were more important things to do. Lwen was kidnapped and Skar's patience was wearing out. "If we're gonna talk, lose the hood. I need to know who I'm talking to."

Without hesitation, the man pulled back his hood to reveal himself.

Skar took two steps back in terror.

The man was really an alien, a Kel Dor; a formidable race of humanoids belonging to the planet Dorin, located in the Expansion Region. They evolved breathing an unusual mixture of gases that lived in the Dorin atmosphere, and they couldn't survive on oxygen-rich worlds. Being away from Dorin required them to wear goggles and an anti-oxygen mask to filter out oxygen. The Kel Dor standing in front of him had yellow, pasty, almost dead skin and the Kel Dor's tall skull rose into a small crest.

A few long gushes had become scars on one side of the face, making its appearance look even more hideous. Skar could hear its breathing now, it sounded restrained, like the alien had trouble breathing, which led him to believe the device helped the alien breathe but maybe wasn't enough.

The distasteful appearance of the scars and the metal appendages made the alien look horrible. Yet its stance, hands folded neatly at the back, gave the creature a certain stoic, almost regal, posture. The black cloak folded around him, waving gracefully on the flow of the light breeze.

"You wanted to see my face?" the alien spoke in pure Basic, though filtered through the breathing mask.

Skar felt shame climbing through his guts. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."

The Kel Dor laughed aloud, a hidious croaking sound. "It is better to be a hypocrite and know it than the other way around. My name is Bo-Hi Dzog. I regret to have startled you."

"Who are you? Why didn't you save my uncle?"

Bo-Hi crossed his arms over his chest. "The answer would be the same if I asked you how you knew to come up on the roof. None of us called for you. You didn't know we were here."

Skar tried to remember when he'd decided to go for the roof. He'd thought it'd be safer than down on the streets. He never felt safe down there. "It…felt like the right thing to do?"

Bo-Hi nodded stately. "There's your answer."

Skar wasn't sure he liked that answer, how could leaving Lwen in the hands of murderers be the right thing to do? "Are you a friend of Kayupa?"

Bo-Hi peered over Skar's shoulder at Kayupa who was staring out over the city. The Jedi Knight was scouting the distances and the Force. "Friend? I have never thought of it that way, but yes, we have a friendship. We have differences too, but our bond is that of trust."

"How did you two meet?"

Bo-Hi started approaching him, eyeing him up and down, sizing him up it seemed. "We are prisoners of war."

"What?"

The Kel Dor started circling Skar, looking him over as he spoke. "Only our battle is fought not only from without, but also within."

Skar followed Bo-Hi as the alien walked around him. "I don't get what you're saying."

"When I first met Kayupa, he was robbed of foundation. He was impulsive and reckless. He saw only things his way and that way is always simple. He is one of the most complicated men I've ever met. I try to help him stray from that recklessness."

Skar snorted. "So, you're like his morality guide or what?"

The alien nodded, clearly not amused by Skar's attempt at a taunt. "Kayupa, like all humans, is a strange creature. He cannot remake himself without suffering for he is both the marble and the sculptor." Bo-Hi finally stopped, facing Skar. The alien spoke in Basic as it had done before, but now with greater emphasis. "I am his Jedi Master."

Skar gasped, and in the back of his head he remembered something Lwen had once said; _When you are walking through the rain, do not wince from it. Do not hide your head. Accept it_. The lesson in that was that you could never ignore what's plainly right in front of you. Though Skar found what he had just been told impossible. His feelings were a mixed blend of joy and denial.

"But…there are no Jedi Masters left. They're all dead. Along with all the other Jedi."

The Jedi Master rose his clawed hand and gestured to Kayupa. "He does not look dead," Bo-Hi cackled, "and my throat is a little sore, but I am still breathing."

Skar scratched his head. "I don't believe it. I always thought I was the last one? My mother was a Jedi, she died in the Purge, but she was under the assumption that I was the very last one."

Master Bo-Hi nodded and started to walk around him. "That she was, I am sure. She never learned that a few were able to slip away."

Skar felt amazed. "How?" A part of him hoped that maybe that meant his father, or his mother, maybe even both, were still alive somehow.

However the Master gave him no real answer. "We have been waiting for this moment, Skar."

His guts shriveled. "You know my name?"

The Jedi Master nodded. "I know much about you. As much as Kayupa and then some."

"How did you find me?"

"The Force led us here."

Skar found hope starting to spark again. "You came looking for me?"

The Jedi Master gave a smile that Skar couldn't interpret. "In a way."

"What do you mean?"

The Jedi Master moved out a clawed hand from inside the cloak and pointed at Skar's hip. "That weapon…gives you away." The hand retreated back inside the cloak. "I've seen that weapon before. In the hands of a man who resembled you greatly. But I dare not think you'd carry his burden."

Skar's fingers touched the lightsaber. "Skind Kjoil - you knew my uncle!"

The answer never came. A blaring warning siren went off in his head, as it had done some hours ago before he was mugged by the aliens from the bar. Only this time he understood. Skar never hesitated as he threw himself on the wet roof. A red blasterbolt burned through the air where Skar had been standing a microsecond before. It flew past Master Bo-Hi, and killed a mercenary on the roof of the building across the street. Kayupa came running up to Skar and pulled him up. The barrel of his blaster was still smoking.

Skar brushed himself off. "Thanks for the warning."

Kayupa smiled smugly. "I'm a hero, remember?" Kayupa looked to the Jedi Master, _his _Jedi Master. "Time to leave."

The Jedi Master gathered his cloak around him and pulled up his hood. "Get Skar to the _Koniduz_."

Skar looked to Master Bo-Hi for an explanation.

"We can't stay here, Skar. You must come with us. We will take you to your uncle. Come, we have a ship nearby."

* * *

The _Koniduz _turned out to be a sleek, crimson-painted personnel carrier. The red color gave it a certain lethal character, and the scoring and damage from previous combat underlined that it was a weapon that could defend itself if it needed to. And all though it was far from being the greatest ship Skar had ever seen, being used to seeing spaceships pass over his head everyday, he still thought it was pretty awesome. He hoped to one day have the chance to fly it himself, having never flown before, having never even been onboard a ship before.

The bridge's two seats were packed into a cramped little space and the second seat was positioned behind the pilot. From there the navigator plotted trajectories and hyperspace-travel while the pilot handled in-system flight and weapons.

The cargo space was originally intended to carry thirty soldiers, but for now it seemed to have redesigned into a living quarters. Crates with provisions were stacked high and bunks stood against each wall. Personal affects were placed under the bunks and Skar noticed scorches along the walls like blasts. Most of the inside of the ship seemed to have undergone crude repairs. The walls had marks of welding on them and several areas were patched up with materials no professional mechanic would use. Skar was excited to learn the ship had an onboard holographic simulator for training. A facility he anticipated to use to its fullest extent.

For now his concentration was based around Kayupa as the Jedi Knight piloted the ship on its repulsorlifts down deep into the shadows of Nar Shaddaa, deeper anyone cared to venture. With every level they left above them, Skar couldn't help the sinking feeling that they were on their way further down into a dark abyss. Life down there was primitive, creatures lived in the shadows and fed off the junk that came down from above. Carcasses of dead animals and humans laid rotting in the shadows and yellow eyes peeked from within the darkness.

Kayupa's piloting skills were as fearless as the man himself. He set the ship down perfectly in a clearing, a space devoid of obstructions and life, though Skar suspected it had once been a market plaza. Artificial light flashed over the area in patterns, and Skar felt safer since most creatures who lived in darkness were afraid of the light.

The heavy ramp rocked the whole ship as it touched ground and the three Jedi of different degrees and families, stepped onto hard soil.

Kayupa was the first to talk. "Master, the ones that attacked the apartment and the bridge were mercenaries who work for a weapon's dealer, a man called Sasori Dragus. He's the head of the Rancor League. They market in all kinds of weapons."

Skar looked over at Kayupa, surprised the man knew so much. Skar had of course heard about the Rancor League once or twice in his lifetime, but Kayupa was not accustomed here. How could he know? "Where did you hear that?"

Kayupa shrugged indifferently.

Skar looked at Master Bo-Hi for an answer, but the Jedi Master didn't say anything, so Skar glanced back at Kayupa. "Why were they after me?"

"We're not sure, yet."

"But they are the reason your uncle is missing, Skar," Master Bo-Hi ventured, "they're waiting for you to come looking for him."

Skar looked at them both. "So what do we do?"

Kayupa's lips slowly twitched before spreading out across his face in a smile. Kayupa looked happier than Skar had seen him before. "We come looking for him."

* * *

Back inside the cargo hold, Skar watched as an observer while Kayupa and Master Bo-Hi spoke to each other about the details of their plan to save Lwen. Skar started to notice how Kayupa had become a "student" in his eyes now. Skar, slightly ashamed to admit it, had been looking up to Kayupa, even more after seeing him display his lightsaber skills in the alley. But now Kayupa was his Master's student. Skar had never imagined Kayupa to be the kind to take orders from others, he had seemed too strong and self-reliant to be a grunt. But now Kayupa had been put down a notch. He was the obedient and trusted Jedi Knight to his Master.

The Jedi Master extruded a powerful presence, the image of strength and wisdom. Dignity. Somehow he just felt _there_. He contradicted Kayupa in so many ways. Kayupa gave the impression of having experience, but where Kayupa had experience, Master Bo-Hi had already seen everything that Kayupa was yet to see. Maybe that was the difference between a Master and a Knight. A Knight longed for more, while the Master knew the dangers the Knight would face. Master Bo-Hi was the pinnacle of knowledge and tutorage. Skar didn't know who he admired the most. Kayupa had all the rough sides and was great with the lightsaber, but Master Bo-Hi… he was just so stoic. Skar acknowledged that he was in the presence of great guides. And the feeling made him happy.

The bond between them was similar to that relationship Skar had with Lwen. A father-son situation. Kayupa said he'd lost his parents, or that he'd never known them, and Skar got the feeling that Master Bo-Hi had been the perfect substitute for the parents. Just like Lwen had been to him. Master Bo-Hi had said he'd never thought of Kayupa as a friend. _Our bond is that of trust. _Maybe he'd never thought of them as friends because their bond was so much deeper. To call it friendship would demean it.

The Jedi Master and his student were done talking and Master Bo-Hi went off to "meditate", as he'd called it. Kayupa pulled out a chest from under his bunk, and opened it. Inside Skar noticed clothes and a cloak. As Kayupa pulled off his heavy black coat and his skin-tight gray uniform, Skar noticed a long deep scar that ran down his back. The scar was old, the skin around it had turned purple and went from his left shoulder down to the right of his hip. "Where did you get that."

Kayupa guessed at what Skar was talking about. "Childhood memory."

Skar lifted his eyebrows. "Must've been some childhood."

Kayupa didn't talk for a while, he began to dress himself in a sand-brown tunic and matched it with a pair of pants. "Just because you had a childhood, doesn't mean you've ever been a child. I grew up pretty fast. I guess its the way the environment affects you."

"What environment?"

Kayupa pulled on dark boots and laid out his cloak. He tightened his belt and clipped his lightsaber on his right hip in clear vision. "I was born on Shalasha. Ever hear of that?"

Skar shook his head. He didn't know much about the outside world.

Kayupa sat down on his bunk. "Shalasha is a moon of the planet Jeter. The Jeterians are ruled by a strict leadership of royal families. There are groups of organizations, or families, who decide the fate of the people through their selfish goals."

The hangar, or living quarters, seemed very small to Skar all of a sudden. Kayupa's words seemed sad but still a part of him appeared to have accepted the truth about his past.

"Anyone who betrays the families are sentenced to live the rest of their lives on Shalasha. Its a prison. Shalasha is an uninhabitable desert moon. When I was there Shalasha was the home of some three hundred inmates. Male and female."

Skar listened carefully. "How did you survive? What about food?"

Kayupa's face lit up with a sadistic smile. "The Jeterian families like sports. So they supply food by drop-ship once a month to Shalasha. But there was only enough food to supply a fourth of the people imprisoned there. You can imagine how one stayed alive."

Skar swallowed hard. "They killed each other to stay alive, didn't they? That's why killing doesn't affect you that much. You've been doing it all your life. To stay alive."

Kayupa nodded.

"How old are you?"

Kayupa thought. "I guess…I'm not sure. Master Bo-Hi says I was about eight when he found me. That was thirteen years ago. So I guess I'm twenty, twenty-one."

Skar frowned.

"What?"

"That makes you only a couple of years older than me."

Kayupa shrugged. "So?"

Skar didn't know how to say what he thought. "Its just…I feel so young, and when I first saw you I thought you were much older. You looked older, like…someone who'd lived a long time. Someone who'd seen a lot. I guess I'm just bothered that we're almost the same age, but you seem to have experienced so much more than me."

Kayupa snorted. "Age doesn't always match experience. We're all affected by our pasts. Mine was just very brutal. There wasn't much time to be a child." Kayupa looked at Skar. "But the greater the difficulty, the greater reward."

"Why were you imprisoned?"

Kayupa stared at him. "I wasn't. I was born on Shalasha. My parents were imprisoned and they bore me into that life. That cell."

"You said you never met your parents?"

Kayupa nodded solemnly. "I didn't. They left me behind. Probably didn't think I could be of any use to them. Didn't think they would be able to feed me."

Skar lowered his head. "Or maybe they just thought that life on Shalasha wasn't fair on you, and hoped you wouldn't survive. So you wouldn't have to live like they did."

Kayupa didn't look at him. "No matter what they did, they were cowards. I hated them for a long time. Everyday I woke up to find someone lying beside me, dead of hunger. Everyday a few more of my friends were killed." Kayupa threw in a deep breath. "I'd wake up and look at Jeter hovering over my home, and I'd curse them all to death. And some other mornings I'd pray by the same planet that I would make it through the day." Kayupa crossed his arms. "It was not… a life, for anyone. It wasn't fair for someone who'd done nothing to deserve it."

Skar felt sorry for him, and it was somehow satisfying to see that Kayupa wasn't invincible. Skar had spotted that in the alley when talking about self-defense. Skar had first imagined Kayupa to be all strength. To be very private and secure only in himself. But when confronted by people he trusted, and he himself had chosen Skar to be one of those, he opened up completely and shared without holding back. Skar applauded him; he wasn't such an easy talker himself. Or he just didn't have much experience or past to talk about.

"What happened? How did you escape?"

Kayupa sat down on the metal floor and folded his arms around his knees. The man had never seemed more vulnerable. His dark brown hair fell down over his eyes and touched his knees. "One night there was a revolt against the drop-ship that supplied food. The guards held us back, we had only rocks to throw at them. One of the guards pinned me to the ground, while they offloaded the food. When they were done, the guard told me that riots were punishable by death, and he pointed his weapon at me." Kayupa lifted his head and smiled. "Then he appeared; Master Bo-Hi. He saved my life. He was my hero, and I owe everything to him."

"He said that you and him were prisoners of war? And that your war was fought not only from without but also within?"

Kayupa nodded. "That war is just him trying to describe where we came from and where we're going. There is a war going on in the Galaxy, and we have a responsibility. The battle within...is knowing we can't be everywhere at once. We have to pick our battles."

Skar rose from the bunk. "We seem to have come from the same kind of childhood."

Kayupa snorted. "Nar Shaddaa is an amusement park compared to Shalasha!"

Skar and Kayupa laughed together.

Later they sat outside at the edge of the loading ramp. Kayupa had provided food for them both in small bowls. Kayupa's long hair was combed back and tightened in a small brace, to keep it from falling into his food. The porridge was green but Skar didn't hesitate from grouching it down. He was too hungry. He didn't even care to taste it. In between spoons of porridge Skar told Kayupa about the dream he'd had a few nights before. The dream about the two Jedi fighting on a cliff and seeing his own demise.

"Do you think it means anything?"

Kayupa swallowed a portion of green goo. "Jedi do not dream. They either just sleep peacefully or they receive visions. But those visions only come if they can help you. The dream was a warning."

Skar didn't feel the slightest bit relieved. "I don't know what the warning is about." The rescue of Lwen still lingered in the future, and Skar longed to feel like he was doing something instead of just sitting around. Each minute that went, was another painful minute for Lwen. Maybe Lwen was already dead, and he had let him down. Skar shook his head, that couldn't be, the Jedi had told him he was alive.

Skar's head drifted in possibilities. "Is it the near future or the far distant future?"

Kayupa shrugged. "Ask the Force, I don't know."

Skar snickered, but turned serious again easily. "What about the last part? I saw my own death."

"I thought you said it wasn't you in the dream, that you saw it through someone else's eyes?"

Skar knew it hadn't been him, but the person had looked familiar. "I did. But I felt the pain, and I felt life leaving me."

Kayupa was silent for a while. "What was it like?"

Skar took himself a long and hard time to think of the best way to describe it, knowing he wouldn't come close to the precise description. "Well…imagine yourself being a cup of water. Then the water starts to drain slowly, and you feel yourself slipping deeper and deeper until you can't even remember your name or anything else. You don't know where you are, but you can still feel your heart beating. And as you feel the heart beating for the last time, you lose all awareness of life until there is nothing more but darkness."

Kayupa stared at Skar for a long time, then returned to eating. "Spooky. I think that the dream was nothing more than a warning of the dangers in the future. Its telling you to be more careful of your surroundings. And the fact that you're about to change your life drastically might have influenced the dream's outcome. You said you died. The old part of you died, and a new person, a man, stands on the other side." Kayupa's eyes scouted for his master in the distance, but Master Bo-Hi had not returned. Kayupa then peered awkwardly at Skar as if he had something on his mind. "You're going with us, you know that, right?"

Skar nodded. "Off Nar Shaddaa."

"Any regrets about that?"

Despite all that Lwen had given him, a home, safety, love, Skar didn't want to stay on Nar Shaddaa. He had to leave if he was to be a Jedi. He had to find out more about the Jedi. _And Lwen must know that. _Except for a lightsaber and a Holocron to teach him lightsaber-techniques, that he couldn't even use, he had nothing to lead him to becoming a full Jedi. Skar had once feared that he would live out his days on Nar Shaddaa and that thought was a fate worse than death to him. It was killing him to stay here any longer. Each breath felt borrowed.

It was as if his life hadn't really begun yet, like he was in some state of waiting before the real life began. Kayupa had been right. His life had just begun. To go with Kayupa and his Master would be a big step to becoming a Jedi. It was the sign he'd been waiting for.

Skar smiled and shook his head. "To me, staying here is the worst fate. My hopes for the future are all that make me accept this place; the hope of leaving."

Kayupa smiled. "Good, I was hoping you'd tag along. They say you should always remember where you came from but in our cases I would hope to forget all about it."

They both laughed and shared in feeling a lighter mood. Afterwards Kayupa set down his bowl and rose. He seemed to take in his surroundings and then pointed in a direction.

"Master Bo-Hi's coming back, and with good news."

* * *

"I was able to gather some more information about the Rancor League. They have a storage facility near the Dangieon Waller. That might be where they've taken your uncle Lwen." Master Bo-Hi tapped the keys on the hologram projector in the living quarters. A tall green detailed hologram of the storage facility came to life. 58 stories of weapons-storage. The facility itself was constructed in the shape of a V, two long structures veered out from a central structure that functioned as a loading bay.

That would be the entry point.

"The facility is not well guarded. Its protected only by a handful of mercenaries. 18 to be exact. They patrol through the facility at random intervals, but the building is also protected by sensors and all doors are sealed with metallic locks. Those can't be opened without an identification-card."

Skar looked at Kayupa. He'd taken such a card from the Sakval corpse in the alley. But how could he have known he would need it then? Had they planned to break into the storage facility before? Was it all just a coincidence?

As the briefing went on, Skar began to realize that Master Bo-Hi wasn't talking to him, but more directly at Kayupa. Skar wasn't being briefed, Kayupa was.

"I'm not going, am I?"

Kayupa padded his shoulder. "Its too dangerous for you. You don't have the skills."

"But he's my uncle!" Skar felt anger. "I'm not scared to - "

Master Bo-Hi turned the holo off. "We know how you feel, Skar. But this is how it must be if its to be successful."

"You're not ready for this sort of thing, kid," Kayupa said.

Those words stung where they could hurt the most. "Hey, I can use a lightsaber!"

"But can you _wield _it?" Master Bo-Hi asked.

"Well…yeah, sure I can!" Skar said enthusiastically, but only then began to wonder if he was right. "I mean…I've practiced."

"I don't want to have to start calling you Lefty or something like that because you cut your own hand off in an accident," Kayupa said, and his smile saved the statement from being an insult. "Kid, let us handle this for now."

Skar wanted to object, but knew they were right. "So I just stay here…alone?"

Kayupa looked at Master Bo-Hi with a smile. Then he glanced at Skar and walked over to his bunk. "Skar, the moment you joined us, the moment you chose to become a Jedi, you haven't been alone. We've been here to help you. And we'll stay with you. As dangerous as this time may seem you can count on us now to look out for you and to help you."

Kayupa pulled out the chest from under his bunk and Master Bo-Hi folded his hands behind his back. "Kayupa will go alone. He knows this sort of mission and can move around unseen. A greater party could not."

Skar frowned. "A stealth mission?"

"Some times results can be obtained without killing. That is a choice the Jedi has."

Skar passed his gaze from Master Bo-Hi to Kayupa. Dressed again in his tight gray uniform, but leaving the coat, he strapped on his blaster below his hip. Then the warrior tied a band of fabric around his forehead like a bandana, keeping his long hair from falling into his eyes. He fastened the knot in the back of his head and looked ready. Skar noticed that the lightsaber was not visible on him. Would he go without the lightsaber? Was that right for a Jedi to leave it behind? A blaster was the standard weapon of military and civilians in the Galaxy, it fired bursts of energy called bolts. Blasters came in varieties of shapes, delivering a wide range of damage capability. Many blasters had stun settings that incapacitated a target, rather than inflicting physical damage. While blasters could deliver a searing blast, they were useless against magnetic seals and shields. Skar lost an ounce of respect for Kayupa. It just didn't make sense. The lightsaber was a friend, an ally. Skar couldn't imagine leaving his lightsaber, ever. Favoring a blaster over a lightsaber seemed like sacrilege to Skar.

Kayupa's jaw tightened as if he was irritated about something. "I'm leaving the lightsaber. It might make too much noise. I have a silencer for the blaster." Kayupa combed back his hair and fixed it inside the bandana with his fingers. "I should get going. Every second spent here is another second of agony for Lwen."

Skar appreciated that concern, but still he didn't want Kayupa to leave. "You're going now?"

Kayupa only nodded, then bowed to his Master. "May the Force be with you."

Master Bo-Hi nodded back respectfully.

Kayupa turned and Skar felt sad seeing him go. He was off to risk life for Skar, and Skar couldn't help him or join him. Kayupa was almost at the bottom of the ramp, when Skar ran after him, feeling he had to say something.

But when he finally caught up with him, he didn't know what it was. "Wait! I…" Skar stumbled over his words, "I don't…"

Kayupa looked at him and his faithful eyes looked right down into Skar's soul. "This is the purpose of a Jedi. I accept it without regret."

Skar shook his head violently, sick of hearing stuff like that. "Don't talk like that. You… you saved me and now you're going to save my uncle, and you don't even take a second to think about it. That's - "

"A hero?" Kayupa smiled and looked up into the little light that fought its way down through the buildings around them. "Heroes always save the day. But even I have doubts about what will happen. There's a disturbance in the Force but I know you and Master Bo-Hi will be there in my mind." With heavy steps the warrior marched off into the darkness surrounding the ship.

Skar heard Master Bo-Hi coming up behind him, and turned around to face him. "Kayupa's…a great man."

Master Bo-Hi nodded. "There's no one more fitted to save your uncle."

"I wish I was going with him."

"You'll get your chance," Master Bo-Hi said calmly. "How are you feeling?"

Skar sighed. "Like this is all a dream. A part of me keeps thinking I'll wake up. Another part of me doesn't want to wake up."

Master Bo-Hi nodded. "The transition is never easy. Especially at so late an age. The Jedi of old knew how the world worked through their training and understanding of the Force. It becomes harder to facilitate the proper training into an already settled mind. In the old days initiatives were taken in to be trained at a much earlier age. To catch the mind when it is most open to learning. Unfortunately, this is a luxury we don't have."

Skar wanted to smile, but he couldn't. "Its okay. I'm not used to luxury. So what you're saying is that I can still be trained?"

Master Bo-Hi pointed to a small pathway that lead up from the dusty plaza around them and Skar followed him. "In youth we learn best but with age we understand more. A young person may know the rules but an older person knows the exceptions."

"Is that what I am? An exception to the rule?"

The Master thought long to find an answer. "I truly hope so, Skar." Master Bo-Hi led Skar to a ledge on a higher level that looked out over lanes upon lanes of ships and transports. They seemed to go forever. The Jedi Master settled down on his knees and stared out at the cityscape. He made a sound Skar could only decipher as a sigh. "Forgive me, but your world reminds me of Coruscant. The way it was before the Empire tainted it."

Skar snorted. "I always imagined Coruscant was beautiful."

"It was," The Jedi Master said. "It was."

Skar sat down next to the Jedi Master. "I wish I could have seen it."

"One day you will, Skar. If my feelings about you are true, you and I will witness a Coruscant just as it was before. Perhaps even more beautiful."

Skar hoped it would be true, but couldn't shed his doubts. "You really think so?"

The Jedi Master chuckled. "The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones that do. And with that in mind, lets get to work on your training."

Skar thought back on his first meeting with the Jedi Master, before they'd been interrupted. "You said you knew my uncle?" he asked.

The Master glanced at Skar. "I met him only briefly. But our encounter left a lasting impression. However I believe I can answer two of your questions at once. Lend me your lightsaber."

Skar felt weird handing it over, it had never left him, and to see it in someone else's hand was almost sickening him. He knew the sickness was an effect of the close kinship between the lightsaber and its wearer.

Master Bo-Hi weighed it in his hands. "This is indeed the lightsaber of Skind Kjoil." Master Bo-Hi acknowledged. "It matches his design, along with the symbols it has. The language of the Kjoil race."

Skar took it back, looking it over, examining the symbols. He guessed it could be a language, but the markings were too detailed for him to begin to wonder what they might mean. "I've seen a hologram of my mother. The symbols on the lightsaber looks like those on my mother's hands. What do the symbols mean?"

"It is the Kjoil family tree, it dates back to the very first Kjoil. From what I can tell, the tree works all the way up, to you"

"I'm in there too?"

"Skind died before you were born, so he didn't add you to the tree. Your mother must have done so after his death."

Skar cocked his head. "But…"

"But what?"

Skar thought hard. "Lwen always told me he stole it from Skind's grave on Coruscant."

Master Bo-Hi nodded. "And it doesn't make sense that your mother went out of her way to add your birth to the family tree and then leave it with his grave."

"No," Skar said. "I don't think it does."

The Jedi Master gave him a little nod. "Your insight serves you well. She didn't leave it with his grave. Lwen didn't steal it."

Skar felt uneasy. "What are you trying to say?"

Master Bo-Hi's expression sharpened. "There is no grave. Skind Kjoil left behind no physical body. He joined with the Force in his death. Your mother gave that lightsaber to Lwen to give to you when you were older. Along with the Holocron."

Skar scratched his chin. "But why did Lwen lie about it?"

"Possibly to save himself from explaining too much about Skind's death and his past. Maybe he felt guilty knowing that your mother knew she would not survive to raise you, and that he could not save her from that fate. Its not uncommon for someone to change the facts about the past, if it helps him look himself in the mirror with a clear conscience."

Skar felt uneasily but knowing Lwen as he did he wouldn't put it past him. Lwen was very good at blaming himself. He looked down at his lightsaber and ran a finger over the symbols. It did look more like a sort of register than just words. "So that's my name at the end, in the Kjoil language?"

"Yes. The Kjoil made tattoos on their hands when they became Jedi of the Old Republic. They made the symbols on their lightsabers too. It was to remind them that though their connection with the Force helped them serve the Republic, they still had their own connection that they should honor." Master Bo-Hi rose and walked around him, hands folded in their sleeves, deep in recollection. "The Kjoil were infamous for their deep connection with the Force. The name Kjoil was used as an example for other Jedi to follow. They were the very peak of discipline and control."

Skar suddenly felt very inadequate. "You're scaring me."

Master Bo-Hi chuckled warmly. "Do not be alarmed, it is in your genes to do the name proud. It is incoded in your destiny."

Skar stood up, so he would be able to look the Master in the eyes. He felt uncomfortable when the Master walked around him, mostly because it made him feel smaller. "This lightsaber, this weapon, it's…it's not…" Skar stumbled over the words, not sure how to put it. "It's never been a stranger to me. I feel like I know it."

Master Bo-Hi understood. "A Jedi is strongly connected to his lightsaber. It is as much a part of them as a hand or an arm, an extension of himself. Because you have the Force in you, you sense that this weapon was built by a Jedi too. A Jedi can read the entire history of an item through the Force."

Skar nodded, knowing he had that ability. "I want to know more. I need to know all about the Jedi, what they were, how they used their magic. But first I need to know more about my family, my race. The Kjoil."

Master Bo-Hi took in a deep breath, preparing a long speech. "The Kjoil were a special race. They lived on a planet called Ka'ckak in the Unknown Regions, a planet plagued with constant storms and rain. Living in caves inside deep mountains and in valleys, they first learned about the Force through their ability to make shelter from the storm. When they concentrated enough they could create a bubble against the cold and it helped them survive. Their closeness helped them to develop their skills. Every child learned to trust the Force to protect him against the strong weather. Every Kjoil could control the Force, and the abilities of the parent were already fully developed in the newborn child. The Kjoil used the Force for even the smallest things, such as warmth. They didn't bother with warm clothes against the wind, they relied on the Force to keep them warm. A truly harmonious race."

Skar looked up at him. "I thought they served the Republic as guardians, like the Jedi?"

"At first, the Kjoil had no contact with the outside world. They knew there were others in the universe, they saw the events through the Force, they knew everything that happened, but they did not have the ability to leave the planet since they could not construct starships."

"What happened? How did they contact the Republic and the Jedi?"

"At a time all of the Kjoil came together in an event known to them as the Gathering. The Kjoil alerted the Jedi to themselves. Within a week a starship carrying the Jedi Council arrived on Ka'ckak. The Republic set up an establishment for the Kjoil to live in, the only and first city on the planet was built, Kolan, and the Kjoil joined the Republic." Master Bo-Hi reminisced. "The first Kjoil to enter the Jedi Order were five selected by the Kjoil themselves. They learned to create lightsabers as a tool of peace and order. Almost all of the five Kjoil did not need any training and were immediately an important part of the Jedi Order. They were seen as examples of how the Jedi Order could truly develop. The Kjoil had the ability to pass on the skill from parents to the child, and normal Jedi do not have that. Not in the same sense. Which is why you have so much ability already though you've had no training. Its already in you, you just need to know where to look."

Skar heard pieces come together in his head and out of the blue he knew his family-history. He was beginning to feel whole. Knowing about his past helped understand the future. "Tell me about my family, the closest of them, my father, my mother, my uncle"

Master Bo-Hi glanced at Skar. "You must understand that your father Koll was not a Kjoil, he was from Corellia. Which is why you have not been born with a full connection to the Force. If Koll had been a Kjoil, you would have been born with the connection. But do not grieve. Your mother's bloodline enabled you to have a strong connection to it. You are not blind. Your senses and skills just need to be awakened. Your mother, who was also of two different bloodlines, was trained by Skind. He was put in charge of helping her awaken her skills. He started training her when she was fourteen."

"Koll finished her training later, right?"

"Yes. Your father took over, and she became a Kjoil Knight under his tutorage. Skind however, was an experiment. Like your mother he was not born with the skills, but the Jedi Order wanted to try to pair him up with a Master of another Jedi kind. The Kiil-Da. Sdah Kiil-Da trained Skind to help him to develop his skills. The Kiil-Da were seen as the hardest, training wise, Jedi Masters at the time, even more disciplined than the Kjoil, and some were afraid Skind would crack under the pressure, that he might go insane due to the difficulty of the training. It was an experiment to say the least." Master Bo-Hi shivered, and Skar thought it was more than just the cold. "But he made it. He pulled through, and the legend surrounding his name is adequate as proof."

Skar was amazed. "He must have been great."

For some reason Master Bo-Hi chose not to answer that question.

* * *

Master Bo-Hi filled him with more knowledge than he could hold as they sat on the ledge and after an hour or two Skar let him know so. Master Bo-Hi suggested that some physical training might help him settle his thoughts and Nar Shaddaa's underground had never been so bright as when Skar's golden lightsaber made perfect shadows of him on the ground around him. Being given instructions by Master Bo-Hi on some very easy techniques, Skar forgot all about Lwen and Kayupa.

This was fun.

And for the first time he felt like he was learning something about the lightsaber. Skar moved his hands from the left to the right, with a clean cut of his lightsaber, then he pivoted on his heel and struck down, ducking into a roll, cutting clean across from up to down, unfolded a perfect somersault and set down in a defensive crouch. The sweat had socked his pants, made them cling to his body like a second layer of skin, his bare upper body was moist and wet, his forehead had little pearls of sweat running down through his brows.

Master Bo-Hi was glaring with pride. Perhaps at being able to train someone new from scratch. The old scarred Jedi Master was a tree of knowledge and Skar was plucking ripe fruits from the branches.

"Good, excellent. You are mindful of the blade. You are careful. This is good."

Skar smiled. _I've just been praised by a Jedi Master._

The training went on, but two hours later, Skar was exhausted. Skar laid flat on the dusty ground, breathing very hard. The sweat was pouring off him, like the confusion that swelled within him and threatened to overflow his emotions.

Skar kept himself flat to show Master Bo-Hi he was exhausted. "I think I'm done for now." Skar rolled over on his back. He shut off his lightsaber and laid it on the ground next to him. He couldn't muster enough strength to raise his neck and look up at Master Bo-Hi. "I mean; it feels more like an endurance-test. I don't feel like I'm learning anything anymore. I was at first but now its just the same."

Master Bo-Hi snarled angrily, something Skar had not anticipated. "That's because you aren't focusing. You're not concentrating enough."

Skar's breathing was sharp, and he almost couldn't hear Master Bo-Hi with all the ache and pain that was driving through his body and the ringing in his ears sounded like a waterfall. "But I'm doing the best I can."

"However it is not good enough. We'll have to work a little harder."

Groaning, Skar pushed himself back on his feet.

"Remember; right hand on top of the handle. Control the angle with the left." Master Bo-Hi lectured.

Skar nodded and adjusted his grip, his feet weary and hurting. "Ready."

Master Bo-Hi sighed with great disappointment. "No, you are not ready. You must have a stance. You can't slouch. A good stance is a sign of a proper state of mind. Even the fastest blade is useless if wielded by a dull mind. You must be completely focused, and concentrated, or you will be useless."

Master Bo-Hi gave him a small show of the different stances a Jedi would choose before entering combat, defense stances that would give the Jedi a strong edge to the combat. Each stance had a great strength in itself but also the selection of attacks that could executed against the attacker were numerous.

Skar held his lightsaber in both hands in front of his chest, leveled his weight evenly over both feet and held the handle out about a foot. The blade was slightly tilted so he could easily bring it down and protect himself as fast as was needed.

"Fight with your mind. The lightsaber is a weapon, but you posses one greater."

Skar concentrated his breathing and calmed it as well. "Now, I'm ready."

"You were right about this being a test, but it is a test of your trust in the Force. Your faith. You must believe it is there to help you. Trust it. The Force is the real gift when being a Jedi."

Skar nodded. "I see your point, Master." _But that doesn't mean I'll live up to it._

When the training finally ended, Master Bo-Hi and Skar crouched down a few feet from each other. Master Bo-Hi asked for Skar's lightsaber again and Skar handed it over gladly, feeling no awkwardness this time.

"A Jedi can construct the lightsaber on his own, if he has gathered all the correct tools. The construction of the lightsaber usually marks a change in the Jedi, taking him to the next level in his training. Some Jedi experiment with the design to see what style fits them best, because the ability and comfort in using the weapon is as important as being able to construct it. Choosing your own design is important, because the lightsaber will gradually become more than just a tool or a weapon, it will become a part of you. It will feel as natural as any part of you. Treat it like a friend and honor its loyalty."

Skar nodded and watched as Master Bo-Hi held his lightsaber in both hands, staring at it. The Kel Dor looked almost nostalgic as his clawed fingers moved around on the handle of his weapon. He looked up. "I won't bother you with the technicalities yet, there is no need for that now. When the time comes for you to construct a new one, you will have the instructions. The lightsaber is a product of a forgotten technology. It is an elegant weapon, its movements matching the flow of the Force within its master. Not just a weapon, but an object of worship, an elegant weapon with excessive force. Able to pierce most known metals. The skillful wielding of it is the mark of a true Jedi. To use and wield and flow perfectly with the lightsaber takes years of training and discipline. When you've gotten used to it, we'll start you off with some simple moves that will teach you how to deflect blaster bolts with the blade."

Skar's eyes darted to meet Master Bo-Hi's cold metallic filters. "What?"

"Its true. When you are in unison with the Force it will guide your hands faster than anything you've ever seen and you will be able to see the future through it. You will know when and where the blasts are coming and the Force will guide you to place the weapon in front of you where the blast is coming from."

_Faster than anything I've ever seen? _Skar thought of Kayupa in the alley with the aliens; that'd been faster. But it was nothing against the speed of the Jedi fighting in his dream. And that speed was in his reach. _I can be that fast, I just have to open myself. Once I learn how to let the Force in. _

Master Bo-Hi closed his eyes momentarily, regaining his strength and wisdom through the Force, locking himself out of the world. Skar felt abandoned though Master Bo-Hi was sitting no more than three feet away.

"You…you're using the Force right now?"

Master Bo-Hi's head nodded slowly. "I am allowing its energy to channel through me and replenish my strength. I open my mind to it, and it feels my willingness to be helped. It obeys my wish and I receive its energy."

Skar thought it sound reminiscent of his own experience, only it had felt so staggering for him. The Jedi Master made it seem effortless. "You make it sound so easy."

Master Bo-Hi smiled and opened his eyes to look at Skar. "Being one with the Force is not something easy. Its a process demanding much effort, and faith."

"Effort? But you said the Force flowed to me?"

"It does, but the mind must be in the right state before the Force obeys your demand."

Skar figured out how late it was by looking at the dark sky above him, but his mind was still fresh and he didn't want to stop training yet. "Teach me how to let the Force in."

"Every Jedi looks inside himself to find out how. To find out what to do, how to act. You have to listen to your heart. Then you can't go wrong. You must be open to its flow and its advice. Right now meditation would be a step ahead for you, but you're not ready to make that step."

"Why not?"

"Because your mind is unsettled," the Jedi Master explained, "by the events unfolding around you."

Skar looked at his hands in irritation. "Kayupa told me that the wisest thing I could do was to listen to my heart."

The Jedi Master nodded. "He was right, if you wish to follow the path and destiny of a Jedi, you must come to terms with yourself."

Skar sighed, feeling it was easier said than done.

Master Bo-Hi went on. "Before change, you must realize who you are now. Only then can you understand what needs to be changed, and you can move on. Remember, if you can't recognize the reflection in the water, you must figure out who you've become."

Skar's thoughts drifted back to the dream he'd told Kayupa about. The reflection in the water. Skar thought of Lwen too, whose life was hanging in the balance.

"Life is full of change, Skar. And you don't notice it until the day you realize that your actions contradict what you once thought was right."

Skar knew that was right. He had once feared fighting, but now he prepared for it. He prepared for death in the service of good. He prepared to undertake something that was impossible. Something he doubted he would ever succeed.

At least not right now.

"What did you learn when you meditated?"

A weary expression took the scarred face of the Jedi Master. "The universe is still living in fear, Skar. The Empire has more control than I feared. There are those living outside its rule, the Rebels, but their morals are strained. And so are their hopes. The universe needs us, Skar. The Jedi must act soon, or we will be too late." Master Bo-Hi was frozen in place, staring at things Skar could not see and thinking thoughts Skar hadn't yet the gift to understand. "The Force is moving out there, beyond this matter."

"The Force moves? What does that mean?"

"That events are about to unfold. Events that will change our lives."

Skar's eyes became slits. "I guess I have a lot to learn. I don't understand…I don't think I understand how the Force works, yet."

Master Bo-Hi was full of understanding. "Then let me elaborate. The Force is in some ways a place you can visit. But you need to believe it to see it. You are not yet fully in trust of the Force, Skar. You need to have absolute faith, free of doubt." Master Bo-Hi looked around for something more substantial, than his words, as proof. "Look around you, Skar. Look at the ground, look at the flask, look at the sky, look at the sun, look at me, look at yourself. What are we? Are flowers just organic matter? Or is a flower alive, as much as you or me? Life is overwhelming, but is life only what we see? Or is life alive, someplace we can't see but only feel?"

"What are you trying to tell me?"

"The Force has made life possible. You are only alive because of its power. All life is born from the Force. Its energy is in everything. Its energy is in you, in me, and even in the tiny particles of dirt you stand on." Master Bo-Hi folded his fingers. "We are living proof that the Force really does exist. Because life…is the Force."

"In everything?"

"Everything."

Skar scratched his chin. "But if the Force is in everything, shouldn't I be able to feel it already? Shouldn't I see it?"

"Once again your emotions cloud you."

Skar stepped forward. "So if the Force is in everything and I have the power to make the Force follow my bidding, does that mean I can do everything?"

Master Bo-Hi made a single nod. "The Force is very powerful and it has very little limits. It can heal you. Clean up the ugliest cut. It can send you beyond heights you ever dreamed if you are powerful enough. You can see the future, or even the past. You can feel life growing around you every second, feel the universe expanding forever, you can feel friends on the other side of the Galaxy. You can read people's minds, or sense their feelings. All these powers are granted to you, once you learn to use them, because the Force has chosen you to be its servant. You were made to protect those who cannot protect themselves, and drive off those who follow the ways of evil."

Skar was stomped. "Can I live forever?"

Master Bo-Hi chuckled. "Like I said there are some limits. No, you cannot live forever. Your life is as fragile as your physical form. If your body dies, you die. Like I said some wounds can be healed but not lethal wounds. And of course, if someone happens to separate your head from your neck, even the Force can't put you back together."

Skar laughed nervously, thanking fate that this Jedi Master wasn't all method-and-protocol. He was turning out to be a great inspiration, and the teacher Skar had always looked for. "This all…sounds very unbelievable."

Master Bo-Hi nodded carefully. "You must remember that, even if it sounds incredible, doesn't make it any less true. That thing you did, on the bridge, is close to being one with the Force, which a Jedi must be at all times. You're entering a world, a faith, where you have to believe that there is more to life than what you can see. Something is out there, Skar. Waiting for you. It is your destiny. And if you continue to doubt what you see, what you feel, you'll fail before you'll even begin. Everybody doubts themselves at one point. It is how they act from that doubt that helps them defeat it. It is not failure to make mistakes, it is failure to not learn from them."

"How do I defeat it?"

Master Bo-Hi fell into a trance. "First identify the doubt."

Skar looked inside himself, listening to all the fears that had been taunting him forever it seemed. Instead of shutting away those voices, he now let them say what they wanted. "I don't think I have what it takes to be a Jedi. I want to find my own goal. I know a Jedi follows the will of the Force, but I need to know what _I _can use it for. Where _I _can make the most difference."

"In other words, you're worried about the future."

Skar felt relief in hearing his worries be pinpointed in one sentence. To hear it so simplified. "Yes, I am."

"A Jedi is a sentient being, a living energy, chosen by the Force to ensure the balance of life. Of good and evil. As a Jedi, you should keep an open mind about the events that might unfold in the days to come, but never lose track of the things in front of you. Contemplate the future, but make the choices in the present. Find out what needs to be done now. And do it. The future is too unstable to be considered worthy of too much attention."

Skar thought of Lwen. Actions had been set in motion to reach that goal so it was fruitless to worry about that. Skar smiled as the answer, the key to removing all his doubts, appeared before him. The only way he could finally understand the Force, and the answer was so simple that Skar couldn't believe he hadn't seen it in the first place. He was worrying about his role as a Jedi, but he wasn't even a Jedi yet.

"Right now the best thing I can do, is to train and prepare for the Jedi life. Tell me more about how they were."

Master Bo-Hi complied. "Gladly."

* * *

Perched like a statue, rain washing down his motionless form, Kayupa watched over the building like a hungry predator, calmly praying and patiently hoping someone would slip up and provide him with an easy access to the inside of the structure. He knew where he needed to go, he could feel the familiar sensation of the Skar's uncle inside the building through the Force. Kayupa contemplated relaying that information to Skar and Master Bo-Hi but when he tried he could sense the two of them were busy training. He felt there was no need to contact them when he had nothing definite to tell either of them.

For a fleeing moment he felt like a jealous little brother, he wasn't used to sharing Master Bo-Hi, it had always just been the two of them. Getting accustomed to new scenarios was not his biggest virtue.

Rain poured in heavy streams around him but using the Force he blocked out the cold and wet feeling of the fabric clinging to his shoulders and back. He knew the rain provided him cover just as well as the dark heavens above. He had the ability to hide himself from others through the Force, but to use that now would be of the Dark Side. The rain hid him just as well as the Force, and to then use the Force unnecessarily would be misuse. Employing the Force when simple patience would produce the same effect, was of the Dark Side.

He had dressed in dark, leaving his usual Jedi cloak with the ship. Master Bo-Hi, as well as himself, had thought that someone might recognize a Jedi cloak. So he'd dressed like a mercenary, dark and shadowy, as well as promising his Master that he would stick to using his silenced blaster, if a fight should break out. However leaving the lightsaber behind had felt unnatural, he never went anywhere without it. It was a part of him.

So, hoping it wouldn't come into use, he'd taken it with him after all. It was attached to a wrist-gauntlet for easy access. At least that's what he deluded himself into thinking. The real reason for bringing the lightsaber was one he found it hard to admit.

Kayupa frowned in disgust when a single guard stepped over to the railing on the roof. When the guard leaned his blaster-rifle against the railing to tie his boot, in Kayupa's eyes, he pretty much sealed his own fate.

Kayupa stretched his legs to full length and jumped, crossing the gap between the two buildings in one long jump. He landed silently on a cushion of the Force behind the guard. With his back to the man, Kayupa then performed half a backflip, stopping midway, balancing on his hands. Before the guard turned to face him, Kayupa completed the backflip, his boots knocking the man over the railing, sending him screaming into the depths below.

With the inept guard tossed over the railing, he hunched down and sneaked cautiously across the roof with his blaster aimed out in front of him. He was on the roof of the loading structure, in the nexus of the V shaped building. A central loading ramp went up through the entire structure, all the way to the roof, to load material onto the landing ramp there. At present time the ramp was in the basement of the structure. In theory he knew he could ride the ramp all the way down to the dungeon and then back up again, but the danger of someone spotting him using ramp on a surveillance camera was too great.

Kayupa closed in on the ramp's sealed hatch. It was huge, ten times ten in meters, a lot of cargo could be stored on it, perhaps even a starfighter. Kayupa aimed his blaster at the hatch but then thought better of it. There was no way the blaster could slice through the thick metal. Instead he pulled out his lightsaber, realizing he'd done the right thing bringing it along, and the blue blade eased its way through the one foot thick metallic seal. He sliced a circle and pulled up the cut section up onto the roof, putting it down gently with the Force.

He peered into the dark ramp-shaft. It went 58 stories down into the building. He couldn't even see the bottom floor. _Jumping down there won't do me much good. If the ramp was higher up, maybe. I should have brought climbing-gear. _Letting air out of his lungs, Kayupa silenced his mind. _There's always a way, just need to open your mind. _Kayupa clipped the lightsaber to his belt and placed himself on the very edge of the hole. He held out his arms in cruciform and closed his eyes.

_Before victory comes humility. _

He leapt up into the air and raised his arms over his head, the hole sucked him in and he dropped smoothly down through the shaft. His bandana trailed above him as he rocketed down the many levels. Balancing himself with the Force, he reversed 180 degrees vertically so his head pointed down, his face being gushed by the wind. He remained calm on the inside, keeping his fear in check, as if the bottom floor rushing up to meet him was not important. Counting the levels that went by, his face still calm as the 38th floor went passing by, Kayupa remembered the layout of the structure from the holo back on their ship. The 25th floor was the one he wanted.

_Here we go. _

Kayupa deepened himself in the Force, deeper than he'd ever gone before, feeling the Force so close and so powerful, it was like he was cloaked in its awesome energy, feeling its power cover him like a warm blanket, then only to deepen itself in him. The hairs rose on his body as the Force surged through him, making him a catalyst for its power. Kayupa spun around himself and his mind wove through the fear and it vaporized like oxygen in space.

Kayupa, his arms suddenly reaching out and grabbing hold on the edge of the 25th floor, embraced his ally, the Force. At his speed and drop, if he'd been human he'd been pulled apart, but a Jedi could extend the limits his body and make the pain his body felt drift over him without him ever feeling it. He pulled himself up on the small ledge and dusted the rain from his suit, as he reached out with the Force and punched the switch to open up the two heavy set lift-doors, on the other side of the door.

The heavy metal doors creaked against the floor as they opened and bright flaring sparks flew over his feet. Kayupa stepped through the doors and they sealed again behind him. In theory he knew he could have plunged himself all the way to the bottom, but wasn't sure he would have the strength to concentrate so close to the bottom.

Kayupa combed back the few strands of hair that had fallen out from under his bandana during his flight and then unholstered his blaster and held it out from his body by stretching out his right arm, lining the sight up with his eyes, while his left hand supported the blaster by the grip. Before him, a circular maintenance tunnel advanced further into the building, spanning longer than he could see with his eyes. The circular construction of the tunnel allowed no hiding places, if someone came from the other end, there would be a fight.

Kayupa flattened himself against the corner wall of the tunnel and reached out to the Force, its energy moving through the tunnel like a sonar, and coming back to him with nothing. The tunnel was empty, and it led to a droid maintenance station.

Turning around the corner, lifting up his blaster to aim ahead of him, he started walking down the tunnel.

* * *

"There is no emotion, there is peace," Skar recited with some hints of tedium in voice, enough so that he could hear it himself, "there is no ignorance, there is knowledge, there is no passion, there is serenity, there is no death, there is the Force." When he was done, he couldn't help but say it one more time to himself in his mind, to hear if it echoed. Skar opened his eyes for approval.

As always the Jedi Master just nodded, an expression Skar had learned to understand as satisfaction but not neccissarily completion. "Any child can memorize words." The Master leaned forward, shadows dancing across his yellow skin from the nearby fire, "but do you _understand _the code?"

Skar nodded hesitantly. "A Jedi never lets his feelings get the best of him, he remains peaceful - "

* * *

…_he keeps himself centered so he can see the path without distraction…_

Moving silently, Kayupa delved deeper inside the building with stealth, hiding behind every corner, bulkhead or doorway that he could use, never staying too long in the center of a hallway. Kayupa tapped into the Force at times to disguise his presence from the guards and soldiers, but he used the Force to disguise himself only when it was absolute necessary, all other would be misuse. He hadn't used his blaster yet, but it was still firmly gripped in his sweaty palms.

…_so he can see which path is the right one, to know which course to take… _

He crept his way through the halls and made it through several rooms. He'd gone down five levels and knew his destination was only two more levels down. Right now he was in a storage area, where hangars and storage rooms were filled with stacks of crates and small fighters.

…_through the Force he knows what needs to be known, so the answer is within reach always…_

None of these chambers were very well guarded and Kayupa found himself feeling at ease, knowing he could overcome any adversary who might spot him. These men didn't have any indication of his presence it seemed. But yet, he felt losing his guard would not be appropriate. He stayed aware of everything around him as he continued to move through the halls.

…_he never lets pride or anger take over, he remains intoned with the Force for comfort and guidance... _

Kayupa took the long way around to the dungeon to examine a particular hangar. Two large locked doors blocked him from investigating it further. Kayupa ran his hand over the nearby card-reader next to the door and pulled out the identification card that he'd snagged from an alien two days earlier. It slid neatly into the slot, and Kayupa heard a beep as the doors unlocked like magic.

…_he has compassion for every living creature, every living being is precious…_

The door whooshed open, and Kayupa found himself feeling disgusted that no one was even guarding the secret the hangar held.

…_and only by following the Force can he reach the true gift sealed for him in the Force… _

With delicate steps he walked into the hangar, feeling no presence or even security systems, and took in the awe.

…_his destiny… _

Kayupa's mouth opened in recognition of the things humans could create when powered by love or hatred. Kayupa knew a secret about Skar's family that even Skar didn't know, passed on to him by Master Bo-Hi. The Jedi Master deemed Skar was not ready to know this certain piece of information and had strictly ordered Kayupa not to tell Skar under any condition. Kayupa agreed it would be better to wait, yet his fingers trembled with prolonged anticipation. Because if their hunch was right…the war could be over in a matter of weeks.

That was the self-chosen mission that Kayupa and Master Bo-Hi had set out on. A quest that even the Rebel Forces couldn't match. The resurrection of the Republic. The age he lived in, was packed with civil wars and evil emperors trying to take over the Galaxy.

But the thing that stood before him in the hangar told many stories of a time when things were different, of a time when things were more civilized. To see something this ancient and still so vital made his insides squirm.

When his Master had taken him from Shalasha, Bo-Hi had shared the secret with him that was so grand and so immense that Kayupa had been haunted by it ever since. In the days of the old Republic, a Kjoil named Skind, whom Kayupa now knew to be Skar's uncle, set himself outside of the Jedi Order and became a senator for his home planet Ka'ckak. He was not interested in bringing Ka'ckak into the Old Republic, he wanted to preserve its freedom and self reliance. Ka'ckak had given five of its kind to the Jedi Order.

All Kjoil were Jedi but not all of them wished to serve the Old Republic, they stayed on Ka'ckak and lived there for their whole lives. Doing nothing but just listening to the Force and enjoying the wonders they felt through life. In a state of hedonism and freedom.

The Kjoil had been called "Epigones of the Force," since they were believed to have the closest connection to it. Where Jedi were servants of the Force, the Kjoil were the direct offspring of its power. No one could explain why their link with the Force was so powerful that they didn't even need to train to understand it, it just felt natural to them. They were born with the Force already fully grown within them.

That was the life that Skind Kjoil had sought to keep for his kind. And to keep it in solitude, in return the Kjoil delivered five of their kind, called the "Five Epigones." They served as Jedi, as any other Jedi would and did whatever the Force or the Old Republic wished of them. They'd sacrificed their solitude so their families could have peace. Skind set himself apart by becoming a controversial politician and a brilliant strategist. As the Kjoil name became famous, Ka'ckak saw much attention. Suffering everything from physical attacks to racism, Ka'ckak and its people were becoming more and more vulnerable.

Receiving full support from the Jedi Council as well as the Republic, Skind was granted unlimited funds to come up with a security system for his home planet. He was given the Republic's most highly educated and most skilled engineers who would help him build a weapon. Skind had never used the word 'weapon' when talking about it, because to him it had not been a weapon, it was merely an instrument which would secure his planet for all time.

Skind designed the weapon himself, and baptized it. Kayupa smiled as he looked at something that was never meant to leave the space around Ka'ckak and which only Skind Kjoil could operate, standing in a mercenary's weapon-storage.

The Jentarana.

Walking across the hangar, a fiendish excitement had wrapped itself around Kayupa's heart. Punching in the access-code to the interior of the Jentarana's transport-vessel, Kayupa was glad to find the codes hadn't been changed. The door hissed as it slid open and stale air met Kayupa's face as he wandered inside.

The Jentarana had been trusted to Master Bo-Hi Dzog. Preparations for its safety was planned in the days prior to the Clone Wars, some twenty years ago, and Sasa Kjoil, Skar's mother, decided that Master Bo-Hi, who was a trusted friend of the family, was the only reliable person for the task. Lwen in turn was charged with the safety of Skar, before Sasa went to meet her demise in the Purge. Skar's father, Koll Riokon, had died some years before in the Clone Wars.

The Jentarana was sealed to the inside of a drop-ship for space travel, an idea Kayupa figured Skind would have hated since Jentarana was never meant to leave the atmosphere around Ka'ckak. Master Bo-Hi had hidden himself on Shalasha along with the drop-ship to ensure its safety. No Imperial force would come there, since the Jeterians, under the promise of peace, manufactured parts of their Star Destroyers.

It was slightly devilish, in Kayupa's opinion, to hide the weapon right in the middle of Imperial space. The Empire hunted the Jentarana for years, and in the first days of the Purge, Ka'ckak was destroyed hoping the Jentarana had died with it. Kayupa knew there was no way the weapon could be operated, since he had sat in its cockpit many times before, and made several attempts at turning it online.

He sat in the cockpit's only chair and gazed at the boards which had no keys, buttons or controls. He'd always imagined that the driver of the Jentarana would fly it through the Force, and thereby resembling the Jedi's use of the lightsaber; the weapon would become one with the driver and follow its will through the Force. Kayupa admitted if he was ever going to design a weapon that was how he would construct it.

_Skar, your uncle was a genius._

A few months ago, Kayupa and Master Bo-Hi Dzog had been ambushed on Corellia. The unknowing mercenaries had stolen their ship and made it off with the most deadliest weapon to ever exist. Kayupa had remembered feeling such defeat and shame that the Dark Side had called out to him, and he had vowed revenge. Master Bo-Hi too suffered, especially his pride, but he remained composed. They managed to find out who the mercenaries had been; members of the Rancor League, a merciless weapons-manufacturer. They were based out of Nar Shaddaa which was the only place that sort of establishment could flourish. They were even rumored to sell weapons to the Rebels from time to time.

So Kayupa and Master Bo-Hi had ventured to Nar Shaddaa to find their lost prize once again. And they'd been lucky, extremely lucky, to find Skar on the same planet. Master Bo-Hi had explained it as the Force's will, and Kayupa had to believe that. As it turned out, the ship being stolen was the best thing that could have happened.

The part about Skind being the only one able to drive the Jentarana put a dent in Kayupa's plans. If operational, they could put quite a scare into the Empire, he'd bet they'd never expected to see that weapon again. Kayupa hated the thought of the weapon being in the mercenaries' hands, but it was as safe there as anywhere, they couldn't make it run either.

And if Master Bo-Hi made his dream of joining the Rebels true, they too would finally have the strength to stand up to the Empire. They could finally turn the tide, and that was Kayupa's intention. He would put things right again, and the Jedi would once again be in control.

Kayupa reached out to the Force and felt the warm presence of Master Bo-Hi far away._ Master, the Jentarana is safe. And unharmed. _

Kayupa heard his Master's words in the link between them provided by the Force. _Good, that takes care of your second objective. Now go find Skar's uncle. _

Kayupa replied. _I feel so vacant sitting in this temple of power and with no hope of using it for its purpose. To bring order to the Galaxy. _

_That time will come. If not through Jentarana, then some other way. _

_Do you think Skar is the key to our mystery? He has the Kjoil blood running in his veins. He must be the clue to operating the Jentarana. _

Master Bo-Hi said nothing for a long time_. The Force will guide us to our destiny. _

Kayupa broke the bond and frowned.

_I feel the Force already has guided me. And its led me here. _He caressed the padding on the seating like an old friend and left the cockpit. _We'll meet again, Jentarana. _

Much to his surprise and dismay the dungeon was actually guarded by a group of five. They were dressed in red uniforms and each brandished a blaster rifle. Kayupa noticed none of them had comlinks, which left them without the ability to call for help if and when he chose to attack. He accepted that he could not sneak past these and a small part of him was excited by that fact. Studying the interior he noted that the room wasn't suited to be a dungeon, there was no alarm and no contact to the rest of the compound. Thirty cells were lined up, with ten on each side of the room, and ten more up a level, reachable by a small lift.

Kayupa noted torture tools lying on a stool against the far wall. A single metal table was placed up against of the far wall. No windows, no other doors. The main entrance was the only way out. Which meant they would have to go through him to get out, and in all of Kayupa's life no one had gotten past him.

Excitement began creeping up his spine and he felt adrenaline pumping through him. Unlike others might, Kayupa was brimming with anticipation of some combat. Sneaking around was too easy for him in a place as unguarded as this.

Pressing himself against the bulkhead and kneeling by the floor, Kayupa flew out. With three successive, silenced blasts one of the guards went screaming to the floor and Kayupa hid himself behind the bulkhead again, as the four remaining guards unleashed hell with their rifles. He'd purposefully chosen to only take one of them down, it would have been too easy to take down three in one move. Not much challenge. The air filled with scarlet beams and the sound of deep thunder. The shots flew through the opening and scarred the wall in front of him, some shots even hit the bulkhead and dust flew onto his shoulder. They were brave at least, but terrible shots.

Kayupa rolled past the entrance, letting off four shots, before reaching safety behind the opposite bulkhead. His four shots killed one more guard and scarred a second terribly in the face.

Kayupa calmed the rouse in his heart but fed off the adrenaline. Nurtured it, knowing it would keep him alive and on his toes. He looked around the corner, confused why the guards weren't talking to each other to plan how to reach him.

As he peeked he saw the one on the left, the leader he guessed, signaling the two others on the right. Kayupa recognized the type of hand-signals they used. _Stormtroopers? _Kayupa slid a new clip into his blaster. _What are Imperial Stormtroopers doing here? Maybe they're former Stormtroopers? _Kayupa shook his head. _Nobody leaves the Empire alive. Are they joining forces? _

Kayupa raised his blaster and knelt next to the bulkhead.

_Well, it does explain the lousy shots._

He saw the leader making more gestures, one of them Kayupa did understand.

Detonator.

One of the guards on the right, Scarface, rolled a thermal detonator down the line of cells and it jumped neatly into the entrance, right next to his boot. Kayupa stared at the device, its small lights ticking away. Two seconds left. Using the Force he sent the detonator rolling back out, peacefully and very slowly returning to Scarface. Scarface stared at it in disbelief as the detonator turned around the corner and stopped right between his feet.

The second guard on the right jumped for safety behind the table but the explosion took out Scarface along with the closest cell. The flames erupted and the right side corner of the room evaporated in dust. The ceiling came crashing down on the already dead guard and sealed his tomb forever. When the noise stopped, Kayupa knew it must have alarmed someone on the level above or someone else on this level. He had to work fast.

He rolled into the room and closed his eyes. Smoke had taken over the dungeon, making it impossible for him to see the other side of the dungeon, but at least that meant the guards couldn't see him either. He closed his eyes and the Force moved his hands to aim at the targets he couldn't see. The first guard by the cell took the shot in the chest and flew up against the wall then sprawled down onto the floor.

Kayupa let the blaster fall to the floor and whipped out the lightsaber from his gauntlet when the last guard saw through the clearing smoke and began blasting. If he wasn't easy to see before, he was now with the blue light illuminating the entire room. The man fired his blaster at the light in a panic, the blade whooshed up and down and sent the shots back, hitting floor-panels and ceiling.

Then, when it was no longer a challenge, Kayupa leapt forward in the smoke and sliced down hard on the man. The man let out a long horrible scream as fire burned through his intestines. Kayupa placed the lightsaber back in his gauntlet and scanned the room.

They were all dead. Corpses laid all around him with smoking blasts-holes in their heads, legs and arms. One of them was blown apart. Ignoring the stink of burnt flesh, Kayupa let out a breath of heavy air. Guilt sank in much too late. He'd not done all he could to save these men, he supposed if he had thought more carefully he could have taken them out without bloodshed. He knew this was why he had brought the lightsaber along in truth, because he loved fighting. It was something he had acknowledged and that Master Bo-Hi had struggled effortlessly to remove.

These mercenaries had taken something from him, something precious, something so important that he felt they deserved to die for standing in the way of justice. He hated these outlaws, or any outlaws who poisoned other people's lives. Not just hate, he was disgusted by them. They'd stolen the Jentarana and for that he figured a little payback was not out of place. And they'd beaten Skar up and kidnapped his uncle. How was he to feel anything for them, other than hate?

His Master's voice invaded his mind. _Was that the correct thing to do? _

Kayupa had never been any good at lying, especially not to Master Bo-Hi, and it shamed him to realize he even contemplated lying.

_Was it not an act of anger? Of hate? _

Kayupa sighed. His Master knew him too well. _Lecture me later, Master. I've got a job to do._ Kayupa found Lwen's cell quickly enough, and disengaged the lock. As the door slid open Kayupa faced the old man, staring back at him with disbelief shooting from his eyes. He looked nothing like Skar had described him, though Kayupa needed no physical image to recognize him. He felt the old man through the Force and knew he had hit pay-dirt.

"Who…who are you?"

Kayupa put out his hand and opened his palm. "I'm here to save you."

* * *

"Sweet goodness!"

Kayupa walked in front of them, stepping over shards of wall and body parts as they made their way through the carnage in the dungeon. He supposed it would be polite to explain what had happened but he didn't feel like it. He didn't bother to talk to the old man, he didn't want to talk about what had happened here.

"So you're with Skar, right? You're helping him?"

Kayupa's mind was occupied with the thought of reinforcements on their way to find them. "Right now, I'm helping you get out of here."

Lwen scratched his beard. "Skar has never talked about you. He never mentioned anyone like you."

"We've only just met." _I should remember to pick my blaster up on my way out -_

"You're a mercenary? He hired you to save me?"

Eyes blazing, Kayupa turned and pointed a finger at the old man. "I'm not a mercenary. Look, just shut up until we're safe."

The frightened expression on the old man's face made Kayupa's heart bleed. He hadn't meant to scare the old man, he just didn't want to talk.

"Okay, okay, I'll be quiet."

Kayupa turned -

And looked directly down the muzzle of his own blaster. He stepped back and by default pushed the old man down onto the dusty floor. Though he should have been worried, his vanity beat all other emotions to the finish line; Kayupa had never been held at gunpoint before. It _just _wasn't something that happened to him, he was always the one holding someone else at gunpoint.

The woman holding the blaster in his face was a foot shorter than him, her eyes perfectly oval-shaped and green. Her face was so contorted in panic that it was hard for him to figure out if she was beautiful or not. Blond hair tied in a knot at the back of her head, her clothes were dusty and filthy, the same color of her skin, pale like paper. Starving, her frail body nothing more than skin and bones, it made him sick how easily he could spot her bones underneath the white and dusty skin.

Her hands were shaking.

Kayupa froze where he stood, sensing her panic could easily evolve into a very messy situation. _No reason to tempt her into using that thing. _Kayupa cursed himself for leaving his blaster on the floor when he switched to the lightsaber, and there was no way he could retract that quickly enough now.

"Don't do anything stupid…"

The woman's soft voice tried to sound strong but failed. "You! Get me out of here."

Kayupa glanced at Lwen. "I'm just here for him."

The woman's eyes widened, her face flustering. "Then save me too!"

Kayupa tilted his head. "You've got a gun, you can get out of here without me."

The woman shook her head and Kayupa saw in her eyes how scared she was. "No, I can't. I don't know which way to go."

"Why should I risk my life for someone too afraid to risk her own?"

The woman was shaking all over now and Kayupa remained poised. The lightsaber was back in his wrist gauntlet but there was no way he could reach it in time before she could get the drop on him. "Because…that's what you do. You save people."

"I…" Kayupa was about to debate with her, but thought better of it. He had the advantage, she needed him. He held out his hand. "Give me back my blaster and I'll help you."

The woman stuttered. "Promise. Promise like a Jedi."

Lwen stared at Kayupa's back in awe. "Jedi? You're Jedi?"

"Shut up!" Kayupa and the woman shouted in unison.

Lwen held up his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright!"

The woman waited for her answer. "Swear!"

Kayupa looked at her and tried to look like as if he was seriously considering the offer or not.

"Any minute now," the woman stuttered, "they're going to come down here."

She was right about that, Kayupa figured. In the end he knew he had no other choice.

"I swear."

The woman held the blaster out for him. "Get me out of here."

As Kayupa picked up the blaster from her palms Kayupa felt a percentage of anger and a greater amount of embarrasment and felt thankful once more that Skar hadn't come along. He helped Lwen up and led them both out of the dungeon.

Now being a party of three they couldn't use the escape route Kayupa had originally planned, so he led them up through the levels and protected them as best as he could, but it wasn't easy being three. He'd been alone when he came in, and it was easier to hide one person than it was to hide three.

Eventually they made it to the highest level without being detected, but Kayupa wasn't too sure it was a good thing. Master Bo-Hi had once said, _if things are going your way, you're walking into an ambush_. As far as he could discern the guards were still on their usual patrols and had apparently not been alarmed about the shootout in the dungeon.

But it was only a matter of time before someone did. Kayupa ushered them into an empty storage room, clear of any patrolling guards or security systems. The woman, shaking like they were walking through an icy landscape, stared at him like he'd already gotten them all killed. "Why? Why have we stopped?"

Growling, Kayupa holstered his blaster and motioned for them to sit on the floor. "If you hadn't pulled that stunt back there, we'd be free now."

She trembled. "But I'd be dead!"

"Then don't complain! I'm getting you both out of here, right? So shut up and stay out of my way!" Kayupa cursed under his breath as he walked to a corner of the room. He mentally opened the bond to his Master, and was somewhat worried to find it was failing, falling in and out like a bad comlink. There was disturbance in the Force. Maybe Master Bo-Hi was in trouble, or maybe it was just him? The link came through eventually.

_Master, we need help. _

_Are you in trouble? _

Kayupa decided not to debate whether or not anyone could ever be safe inside an enemy's stronghold. _No, we're alright, but we need pick-up. _

His Master's words killed any fear he felt. _We'll be right there, can you make it to the roof? _

_We're right below it. _

_Good. Hang on. _

Kayupa broke the link and scrambled over to the two prisoners, kneeling down on one knee before them. Lwen was all happiness, even on the inside, full of hope and trust. But the woman was still dueling her panic and inner demons. When he looked at her she looked away and wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Help is on the way, we just have to stay here for a while. But we're safe."

* * *

The very second Kayupa heard the flaring repulsorlifts of the _Koniduz _he lit his lightsaber. He caught a look on Lwen's face who was smiling like a giddy child who'd just been given a new toy. From what Skar had told him, Lwen had seen lightsabers being wielded by Jedi before they were wiped out. Confident in his abilities, Kayupa was sure he was as good as any of them.

The Jedi sliced a hole for them in the ceiling and the rain came pounding down almost immediately. Kayupa pushed the both of them up on his shoulders, one at a time, and then lifted himself up with the Force.

The _Koniduz _was hovering just above the roof, its roaring engines the only sign of light against the dark clouds over their heads. The rain torpedoed the ship relentlessly and rain washed off its hull in small waves as it moved.

"Closer!" he shouted, doubting anyone inside could hear him.

The ship lowered down so he could almost reach the descending ramp. But every time he got close enough the wind pushed the ship out of his reach. Kayupa waved to the ship to fly lower so he could pull himself and the prisoners up on the ramp. He spotted Skar, standing on the ramp. Skar was waving and shouting but Kayupa couldn't hear him over the wind and the roar of the engines.

Kayupa followed Skar's waving trying to make sense of it. Skar wasn't waving at him. He was gesturing wildly at something behind him. Towards the old man and the woman -

_What's he trying to say? _

Kayupa touched Skar's mind with the Force to understand what he was trying to -

_Look out! _

Through his magnified senses, empowered by the Force, he heard the trigger being pulled before he heard the blast burning through the air and whoosh past his left ear. Moving as fast as his body and the wind would allow Kayupa rolled sideways left on his shoulders, pivoted 180 degrees on his knees and raised his silenced blaster in the move.

"Hold it!"

Across the roof the woman tightened her grip on the old man and tucked the blaster, her own blaster, deeper into Lwen's temple. Kayupa could see the man was hurting, and reached out to the woman through the Force to calm her, but to no effect.

"Don't move or this guy dies!"

Agitated, Kayupa lowered his voice to a trembling bass. "I _need_ that man."

"Then do as I say! Drop the weapon!"

Kayupa scowled. "Not this time."

"You drop it _now_!"

Kayupa held his position, unaffected by her threats. "I won't."

She sneered and pointed the blaster at him instead. "You think you're fast enough to stop me?"

Kayupa gave a confident smile. "Maybe."

She snarled in spite. "Your confidence sure isn't lacking -"

"Nor is my aim. Don't take it personal. I don't want to hurt you."

"Said the man pointing a gun at me!"

Kayupa raised his voice over the wind and found himself feeling genuine anger. "Said the man who busted you out of prison, lady! Would I have done that just to kill you later?"

She pointed the muzzle back towards the old man's head. "You would let me go? I don't believe that!"

He could feel confusion radiating off her. She didn't know what to make of his talk. "Its the truth."

"Just who do you think you are?"

Kayupa adjusted his aim at her shoulder instead of her head. "Right now a thin line between your savior or your killer. Depends on you."

That only enraged her more. "I will kill him, I swear!"

Kayupa felt the Force reaching out to him and he closed his eyes. His mind was flashing with images, feelings and emotions of the woman's past. The pictures rushed through him and he felt them so lividly that they felt like his own. Kayupa opened his eyes again and made his voice as comforting as possible. "You're scared and panicked but you're not a killer."

"Shut up! You know nothing about me!"

"Your loneliness is standing in your way. "

Her grip on the blaster slackened and she stared across Lwen's shoulder in confusion. "What are you…?"

"The only you're getting out of here alive, is to trust me. I told you, I could have killed you long ago if I wanted to. I don't," Kayupa lowered his blaster slightly to show his sincerity, "so please don't make me."

The woman didn't talk, she just stared at him from behind Lwen. Lightning struck not too far way and a brief moment of light allowed both of them to see the other clearly. Kayupa felt like his guts had been pulled from his stomach when he saw her eyes. Full of fear, but an untold beauty glimmering behind them. Sad eyes, the eyes of a person who had never had a moment of true happiness in her life.

Slowly she loosened her grip on Lwen and just looked at him with those lovely eyes for so long. He really felt he'd reached her. And not just to stop her, but reached her because he sincerely wanted to help her.

Kayupa lit up inside as she lowered her blaster and Lwen was released. He holstered his sidearm and reached out his hand to gesture her to take it. Reaching out to her, he felt her calming and he could sense that she too wanted things to end, in her was a desire to move on from her fear. Though it was a feeling he was unfamiliar with, Kayupa hoped that in him she saw a way to make that transfer. As she moved closer to him Kayupa assured his Master mentally that things were alright -

Only Lwen didn't see it that way.

Released from her grip but tired of being the victim and feeling the same rage Kayupa had felt when she ambushed him, he punched an elbow into her rips and she fell forward. Lwen ran towards Kayupa for safety, but he didn't make it all the way.

Acting on instinct the woman pulled her trigger - Kayupa touched the Force ever so gently - and the shot flew straight at the old man. The expanding blue ring grazed the old man in the shoulders and his lower back and he went down stunned.

The woman lifted the blaster, and looked at it confused. "I didn't set it for stun - "

Kayupa damned her for making him do this but wasted no time. His own gun set for stun planted the blast directly in her face and she fell down without delay. She slammed onto the roof's wet surface and laid there like a corpse.

In the following moments, Skar helped Kayupa carry Lwen onboard the ship and Skar took care of him. Kayupa saw no sign of his Master but knew the Jedi Master was controlling the ship and wanted to be ready for take-off as fast as possible.

Back down on the roof, Kayupa walked back over to the stunned woman and picked up her blaster. He'd managed to set the gun for stun through the Force just seconds before she pulled the trigger. She was right, she hadn't set it for stun; he had.

_Should I leave her here? _he asked his Master.

Inside he knew it would be easiest to just execute her on the spot. She'd gotten them in trouble and jeopardized his mission. She'd almost gotten them all killed. It would also be the most humane thing to do, once the mercenaries found her she would be tortured to reveal what had happened.

_Do you think that is wise? _

_I can't decide, Master. _

His Master's words were comforting and reasonable. _That is why it must be your decision. _

Kayupa holstered the weapon he'd picked up, and brought his own to bear. The muzzle was aimed at the woman's head. His hands were shaking. Seeing her sleeping peacefully made it hard for him to keep her at gunpoint. He closed his eyes and prayed for strength. He pulled back the trigger ever so slightly, but something prevented him from taking the shot. He could feel emotions he was uncommon with starting to build up inside of him. Confusing emotions.

Reluctantly, he slipped his own blaster into his belt and lifted the woman onto his shoulders. _But I promise, if you ever point a weapon at me again, you ain't walking away from it.

* * *

_

Within a handful of heartbeats, with Kayupa and the woman onboard, the ship rocketed off the rooftop, clear of danger. After securing his new hostage, Kayupa thanked his Master for helping him know what to do. His Master praised his apprentice for making the right choice and Kayupa left the bridge feeling pride once again, a feeling that hadn't touched his heart in a long time. The feeling only got better when he saw Skar reunited with his uncle in the living quarters.

Skar crossed to him and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Thank you, Kayupa. You put your life out there for me. I can't thank you enough."

Kayupa nodded and pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "Thank you for the warning out there. We'll call it even."

Skar scoffed. "Not a chance!" He left with a smile and resumed to care for his uncle. Feeling happy for the two Kayupa walked on through the cargo-hold, a place that suddenly seemed alive with positive energy.

He found his captive now awake but tied up, sitting against the wall. He crouched down in front of her and looked her in the eyes. She looked like she was ready to eat his intestines and ask for more.

Kayupa rubbed his palms together, a clammy sensation suddenly manifesting. "What I said down there was true...I want to help you."

Kayupa was sure she would have snarled if only her body possessed the strength to do so. Instead she looked away and tears began to show in the corners of her eyes. "You shot me, and now you tell me you want to help me?"

Kayupa pulled out a small vibroblade from a sheath in his boot. He held it up for her to see, and her face paled when she did. "If I wanted to kill you, you'd be lying in a puddle of your own blood back there. Make of it what you want."

She looked at the blade and back at him. "Why do you want to help me?"

He looked over at Skar and his uncle at the other end of the cargo-hold. They hadn't said two words to each other since their reunion, but Kayupa could feel the joy between them both. Words weren't necessary. "Look at them. They're happy because they're back together. I made them feel that way. I helped them," he looked back at her, "I was hoping to find some way of making you feel the same way."

She sneered. "So you're out to make the world a happier place?"

He smiled and let out a quick laugh. "Maybe not the _whole _world, but people I meet. One at a time."

She seemed unconvinced. "What satisfaction does that give you?"

"Little, but I was never put in this world for my own sake," he said grimly. "Every once in a while I meet someone like you. Someone interesting." He lifted the blade again, so she could see it. "If you pull something like that back on the roof again, this blade will set you free a second time," he blinked. "Get it?"

She nodded. "I get it."

He started to cut through the ropes and helped her up. "My name is Kayupa."

She held out her hand and they shook. "Shinran." She massaged her wrists and then headed for the nearest fresher, but then seemed to think better of it. She stopped and turned back to face him. "Hey. What was it about me you thought was interesting?"

Kayupa's eyes flashed briefly over her rear. "I'll tell you some other time."

* * *

With his position cemented among the top hundred most wealthiest beings in the Galaxy, Sasori Dragus was a man with few worries that couldn't be solved by throwing money at them. The weapons market was a dangerous one but he had mastered it down to an art. Knew how to pick all the right places, where to buy, steal or produce. He saw himself as a man with a wide understanding of the world he lived in, he kept himself always up to date with all the currents wars or riots that were going on in the Galaxy. An expert in galactic relations and combat.

And at exactly the right time he knew when to contact the losing side of a war and then sell his weapons at the highest cost to guarantee them victory. People didn't care about money, they cared about the victories. Even the Rebels knew that and he credited them for being such smart individuals, in their minds they weren't fighting for pride, they were fighting for a cause. And that made them desperate. The desperate and weak never checked their accounts before acquiring the latest in weaponry.

The Rebels believed firmly they were doing the right thing, but in his business there was no right or wrong. There was opportunity and profit. He saw himself as, above all else, a designer. He was a creator, and he could enjoy his work as long as he didn't have to think about the damage his weapons could do, and most certainly would do. Global peace did not interest him, the only kind of peace he believed in was achieved through superior firepower.

The loading ramp took Sasori to the roof, where only hours earlier a firefight had taken place between his former captive and her savior. The ramp doors swung open as the lift reached its destination and his ten bodyguards came flying out at his flanks, covering him with blasters of his own design.

Their thick armor protected them from a bolt even at point blank range, but was as light as paper, a design he was particularly proud of since it had just earned him another ten million credit on an always growing account.

Sasori felt pride wrap around an otherwise cold heart, as he watched the way his men scattered to create a circle of protection around him. They were young but his trainer had done well in tutoring them all to excellence. They aimed blasters in every direction, scanning the roof for dangers in their helmets' multiple vision selections and waved him forward when it was safe.

He clasped his hands at his back and stepped out onto the roof. The rain stopped pouring down around him and he looked up as the pull of the wind increased. The clouds parted briefly as a shuttle broke through like a swooping predator and came hovering down over on the landing pad.

Jets burned to cushion its landing, while the wings folded upright and the menacing ship finally settled down firmly on the pad. Shrouded in black, the ship's design was not easy to mistake. It belonged to his superior, a man who far outmatched Sasori when it came to cold-heartedness, Raydoen Jayant.

The ramp lowered beneath the shadowy body of the ship. And its captain descended the ramp with that careless swagger as he always portrayed. One of Raydoen's hallmarks was his black wardrobe. Always in black, the clothes clung to his body like a suit of armor though Sasori knew none of it restricted the man's field of movement. The collar covered his throat and almost made the man come off as a priest or holy man. The black as night cape flapped behind the black suit that Sasori always admired. He'd even pondered about getting one for himself. Raydoen had a style that exclaimed fashion as well as evil.

Raydoen was the same height as Sasori, but that didn't make them equals. The man, or alien rather, had short, closely cropped black hair that clung to his scalp like it was pasted on. The black goatee and mustache was neatly cropped and perfect at all corners and edges. The red tattoo in his forehead, in the shape of two semicircles meeting each other at their peeks, the emblem of the Rancor League, glowed as if by its own force. The devil's completely red eyes seemed to look nowhere, but still saw all. The skin of Raydoen was pale, adding to the impression that the man was a walking dead, an evil unheard of in this world.

Raydoen deliberately took his time walking to meet Sasori. The effect was lost on Sasori who considered it to be nothing more than another offspring of Raydoen's overwhelming arrogance. When the man-thing finally reached him, Raydoen stopped inside Sasori's circle of protection and folded his hands behind his back in a mirror of Sasori's own posture.

The rain washed over the alien but he made no notice of it, those red eyes just looked in Sasori's direction, burrowing deep into his soul, rattling his spirit.

Sasori cleared his throat. "Master." The title was honorary to its fullest, one that Raydoen had ordered Sasori to use when addressing him. It was more food for Raydoen's ego than a courtesy. In return Raydoen had the delightful habit, one that he never forgot to utilize, of calling Sasori 'Inferior'.

Raydoen smiled with his perfect white teeth, revealing the two extended fangs in his upper mouth. He'd sharpened those teeth on purpose, to add to the ferocity of his appearance. "What is it this time, Inferior?" The voice was dark and oozed with contempt.

Sasori found it ultimately pointless to defend himself, in the years he'd worked for Raydoen he knew that the man could smell a lie across the Galaxy. "Let me take you downstairs. I will explain the matter in full."

Sasori turned to walk, but Raydoen maintained his position, staring at Sasori's back with his flaming red eyes.

"Explain?" the man asked. "You mean apologize."

Sasori turned slowly, feeling a terror unlike anything he'd felt before when he realized he'd disrespected the vampire by turning his back to him.

"Or do you mean….beg for your life?"

Sasori breathed in, taking little comfort in the fact that if Raydoen attacked, his men were loyal to him first. They would kill Raydoen, every one of them, but that thought served as nothing but false assurance. He'd seen Raydoen take down three times as many enemies single-handedly.

Sasori swallowed whatever spittle his dry mouth had. "I - "

But it was too late. As was the trait for his species Raydoen's movement was a blur, supernaturally fast, as he leapt ten feet onto Sasori, crushing him to the ground under his black boots. With two rapid swirling motions the dangi blades were out from under the black cape and the double-edged blades crossed each other over Sasori's throat. He wanted to scream but knew the razor-sharp short-blades would kill him if he even dared to breathe.

His men aimed their weapons at Raydoen, but the alien had moved too fast for any of them to pick up. Now they didn't dare move.

Sasori could only make out glimpses of Raydoen's face as the rain fell into his eyes. Raydoen licked his fangs, his warm breath washing over Sasori's cold cheeks, his red eyes glaring with sick pleasure.

"You know my heritage, Inferior. You should know never to turn your back at me. You may not be Dfieeliuan, but you will learn about them if you are to work for one. To turn your back to one is a sign of hatred." Raydoen turned his voice into a whisper. "Do you…_hate _me, Sasori?"

With sharp fangs filling his vision, Sasori thanked the gods that Raydoen wasn't telepathic. He moved his head side to side, careful not to puncture his throat on the blades. He did hate Raydoen, he hated the man, not because he was evil, but because he was the most stuck-up, arrogant bastard Sasori ever had the misfortune of working for. The man did none of the work, he never had to talk with the clients and negotiate the deals. Sasori took care of everything, a chore that was simple enough as long as Raydoen wasn't around.

Every time the man came to visit, Sasori reconsidered his life. Fear kept him on Nar Shaddaa, fear and those days when Raydoen was not around.

"Remember this moment, Inferior. Death abandons no one. Not even someone as unworthy of it as you."

The blades retracted into the cloak and Raydoen straightened up, stepped over him and swaggered into the loading ramp, where he casually leaned against the railing. He smiled that devilish grin that Sasori had come to despise.

"Am I going alone?"

Sasori coughed up rain as a few of the bodyguards helped him stand. Rubbing his neck with his hand he reluctantly he joined his bodyguards on the loading ramp, noticing how the bodyguards stayed on the opposite end of Raydoen as the ramp lowered itself into the building.

The Dfieeliuan smiled like a demon all the way down.

* * *

Once safe in his office, Sasori felt his pride coming back, slowly but in transit nonetheless. The office was situated in the farthest end of the east wing of the storage facility. The walls were colored bright white like a sun, and sketches, drawings and pictures of his weapon designs were scattered out along the circular room. One section of the wall was made of transparent steel, a wide look over Nar Shaddaa bathed artificial light into the room.

Sasori's desk, made from black krachstones, was situated in front of the window, positioning him with his back to it. The glass was strong enough to prevent any would-be sniper from shooting him.

Currently, a holo-projector in the center of the room was playing through several surveillance images of a Jedi Knight, wearing a dark uniform and carrying a silenced blaster, as it made its way down the loading shaft, seemingly flying before halting in a maneuver that should have taken off its arms and jumping onto a ledge.

The entrance doors to the level opened, apparently of their own will, and the Jedi walked out of the camera's range.

Raydoen was slouched on a couch in the other end of the room, fingering small pieces of red meat from a tray next to the couch. Just listening to the alien slobbering made Sasori sick, but he kept his lunch down with effort. He'd grown used to it.

Dfeeliuans came from a planet inside the Inner Rim. They were predators, even cannibals, who hunted in packs against rivaling clans. The Empire had tried using them as special forces troops, like the Noghri, but failed miserably. The Dfeeliuans turned on their masters and ate them. Rumor had it that they enjoyed drinking the blood of their enemies.

Raydoen was one who was lucky enough to escape his owner. Dfeeliuans possessed feline-like grace that betrayed their very thin and spiny bodies. Though appearing sickly and unhealthy the carnivore was by nature in better health than Sasori himself. Raydoen's past as to how he became a weapon's dealer, and a wellknown and profitable one at that, was an easily solved mystery. The Rancor League's former head of affairs had been a Corellian named Tuui Neveran. Rumor had it that Tuui was dead and by the hands of a trusted bodyguard, a bodyguard who just happened to be a Dfeeliuan.

As for how Raydoen had become profitable, the blame rested solely on Sasori's shoulders.

Sasori poured himself a cup of caf at his desk, while Raydoen glanced at the holo playing from time to time with glee, between gushing down pieces of bleeding meat. "Remarkable creature, this…_Jedi_."

The way he hissed that name showed his respect for the Jedi went beyond admiration. Raydoen was a hunter by nature, a cold-blooded killer, always competing with himself. He pitted him against anything that would fight for its life, proving himself over and over. Many of these events had happened right there on Nar Shaddaa, in Sasori's own training facilities.

Many of Sasori's own soldiers and bodyguards had died at Raydoen's pale hands. He didn't feel the need to comment on Raydoen's observation. He had watched the holo unfold before, taking small notes and trying to piece all of the small puzzles together. Sasori looked up at the holo again, sighing with tedium until he noticed Raydoen staring back at him on the opposite side of the hologram.

"You look anxious, Inferior." Raydoen picked up another piece of meat with one of his dangi blades. "Is it the caffeine?"

Sasori reacted with a smirk. "I am anxious in your company, Master," Sasori looked back at the holo, "and appalled as to why you attacked me when you came in."

Raydoen let out a deep chuckle. "You appalled _me _when you brought ten bodyguards to meet me, Inferior. I could smell fear off your skin and your sweat. I couldn't help myself."

"I'm glad you had your laugh," Sasori sipped his caf and leaned back in his seat, trying to appear unmoved. "I'll brief you on the prisoner break, Master. The Jedi Knight - "

"What was the name of the prisoner?" Raydoen interrupted.

Sasori looked over the datapad in front of him on his desk, though already knowing the name by heart. "Her name was Shinran. That's all we know. We imprisoned her here after she -"

"Not the woman, Inferior." Raydoen stabbed his blade into a new piece of meat and brought it up, dripping blood over the couch. "The man." Raydoen's red eyes burned with curiosity.

Sasori began telling the long tale about how two of his men had followed a young man through the city, eager to loosen him of a few credits, when the man had leapt over a bridge. The man had carried what the men called a "beamblade". At first Sasori had thought them to be drunk but his technician had informed him about lightsabers.

The thought of a Jedi in their hands was useful for many things and for many people. Both sides of the war should be interested, Rebel and Imperial. Sasori hadn't decided on who he would contact first, but he had a feeling the Empire would have a bigger account. And to stay on the side of the winning team could lead to other fortunes.

The same men a day later had already established where he lived. They'd kidnapped the only person in the apartment, losing one of their own men. And now the Jedi had broken free the man from the apartment. Taking the insignificant, but beautiful woman with him.

Sasori wrapped the story up. "I think that sums it up."

Raydoen was slouched on the couch still, appearing unaffected or even interested in the tale, picking at his teeth with his claw-like nails. "Quite a story of woe, Inferior."

Sasori shrugged. "Its what happened, Master."

"How did it come to pass that the Jedi could make it all the way through the building without being spotted, only to then blow up a small section of the dungeon, and nobody hears anything?"

Sasori raised his shoulders. "The walls are of a special compound of durasteel, the kind they use on ship hulls. Its soundproof. He used stealth all the way, which I hear is very natural for a Jedi. They don't make action unless its called for - "

Raydoen made a sound Sasori had never heard before, it started as a growl but ended in a vicious and vile snort. Clearly Raydoen didn't think much of such a decision. In Sasori's mind stealth was the wisest decision when breaching an enemy's base, espicially when operating solo. To attack with sheer force was unwise and dangerous and cost a lot of lives. Stealth was cheap. He'd designed many weapons for stealth-usage.

"Master, the men in the dungeon were… special."

Raydoen's dead eyes shot wide open. "You lost them?"

"The Jedi-project was of highest importance, Master. I figured it would be wise to put our best men to guard the bait - "

"Bait? Bait implies you had a trap ready!" Raydoen rose to his feet and his pale hands clenched in fists. "Those stormtroopers had no loyalty to us. The only reason they're here is because Admiral Stamper ordered them to. That's what made them sloppy. And you set _them _to spring the trap!"

Sasori didn't know what to say, and fear started to form in his chest.

Raydoen reached for one of his blades in anger, but never finished the move. Sasori realized he'd been holding his breath. Raydoen let his grip on the blade go and roared in anger at the ceiling of the small office.

"You incompetent fool!"

Sasori decided to stick up for himself. "I didn't think my own men were as fit as the troopers, Master."

"So you picked _stormtroopers _instead? Fool. You might as well have placed blind snails on life-support to guard the dungeon." Raydoen closed his eyes and opened them again; the glowing red tattoo thundered with hatred and disappointment. "It doesn't matter now. Admiral Stamper doesn't know about the Jedi. He knows only of the other."

Sasori felt his stomach flip. "The other? You've sold it?"

Raydoen smiled and lifted a clawed finger as bony as a corpse's. "He has paid me in advance. He knows that we have the weapon. But he doesn't know of its status. I've told him only little bits of the truth. That's why he stationed his troopers with us, so they could detect if we were plotting anything devious." Raydoen licked his fangs. "We are."

Sasori turned his eyes into slits. "What?"

"Admiral Stamper will bide out time till the right moment comes, right at the turn of the war. When the Empire needs a new weapon the most."

Sasori tapped his desk. "Master, with a weapon like that, wouldn't it make more sense to pawn it to the Rebels?"

"No. We'll stay as honest as we can to Admiral Stamper. Besides, your technicians have made no progress at making it function."

Did he have spies in the facility? _What am I saying? He's got spies everywhere. Even with the Empire. Probably even the Rebels. Always looking for the next good war. _"No, we still haven't made any progress. But the Jedi, he was inside it."

Raydoen's red eyes lit even brighter. "Really?"

Sasori nodded and fast-forwarded the holo. Raydoen stared at the image of the Jedi manipulating the password-panel on the exterior of the ship and then made his way inside. Raydoen glanced curiously at Sasori. "If we study this footage close enough, we might be able to find out the password."

Sasori finally felt like they were on the same page. "Then we'll have a weapon to pawn, Master."

They both continued in observing the holo of the Jedi as it rolled past a security guard when the guard turned his back to the Jedi. All done in stealth and secrecy. Then the Jedi reached the dungeon and they watched him unfold many actions and professional combat behavior against the unwilled stormtroopers. The Jedi even pulled some sort of magic on a detonator and made it roll right back to the trooper who had unleashed it. Later the Jedi fired up his lightsaber to bring the last trooper to a smoking end.

Sasori muttered. "The bodies have all been burnt." He swallowed hard. "And the remaining seven stormtroopers have been killed before they could make any transmission to Admiral Stamper, Master."

Raydoen snarled, but never took his eyes off the holo. "So you did something smart, remarkable. Make sure I'm invited for the anniversary next year." Then Raydoen leapt forward and pointed at the holo. "Stop. Playback ten seconds."

The holo looped ten seconds back, showing the Jedi slide a new energy-clip into his blaster. The empty clip was thrown on the floor next to him.

Raydoen smiled fiendishly. "Get that clip up here. I want it."

Sasori was confused, and severely doubted the clip would still be on the ground. A cleaning and repair group had already restored most of the dungeon. "But - "

"Just do as I say."

Sasori noted the request and continued the recording. When the woman held the Jedi at gunpoint they realized that she had not been part of their group and that the Jedi had come solely for the old man.

"They brought her out of sympathy." Sasori ventured.

Raydoen frowned. "More like necessity. Or maybe they had the same lust burning in their loins as you, Inferior."

Sasori controlled his rage, feeling slightly like a cup beginning to overflow.

"The rescue was nothing more than that; a rescue. Emotional. Nothing strategic. They didn't go for the weapon," Raydoen scratched his goatee, "however maybe the Jedi planted a trap in there for us. We must be cautious."

The clip ended. Sasori found himself pondering small thoughts back and forth. And something dawned on him. "Odd."

Raydoen looked at him. "What, Inferior? Speak!"

"The men who followed the Jedi on the bridge said its 'beamblade' was the color of fire," Sasori pointed at the holo, "this one is blue."

Raydoen's red eyes lowered in color. Then he looked out the window and stepped to its edge. His fingers still played with his mustache in deep thought, far away in his own scheming and planning. "We don't need the Jedi after all. It was foolish to think we could make it do what we wanted. We can gain access to the weapon ourselves. Meanwhile we'll up security and focus our technicians on the ship. I'll have Dr. Oteyu fly in from Pathfort. Admiral Stamper will just have to wait for us to make the weapon ready for him."

"What if he needs it before then? From my experience the Empire isn't all too keen on delays."

Raydoen frowned. "He doesn't know we have not learned how to manipulate it yet. If he asks for his weapon before we learn, then we'll make up a story. The good news is that we already have the money. Admiral Stamper will die in war before we ever find out to make the damned thing work." Raydoen smiled to himself. "Or he could have an accident."

Sasori nodded, only then starting to feel relieved he hadn't been executed for negligence. Yet.

"I like the idea, Master. I'll report to you on the progress."

Raydoen's eyes blazed brightly red. "You think I'm leaving?" Raydoen leaned in over the desk and his hellish eyes were burning with a sick delight. "I'm going to dig in here, and you'll be my second in command."

Sasori felt the sweat running down his spine, his shirt clinging to his back. "Of course, Master." _I don't know why I'm so surprised…_

Raydoen crossed to the couch and picked up the last piece of red bloody meat with his hand and threw it in the air. He caught it with his teeth when it came back down and the blood went dripping down the sides of his mouth. He swallowed it and wiped the blood away with his sleeve. "Here I can prevent failure. _Your _failure."

Sasori nodded, trying his best to swallow the taste of bile in his throat.

"And I'll be needing a chamber," Raydoen held up his palm to silence him before he could speak. "I'll find a place myself. Start getting to work on our plan, Inferior."

Sasori nodded and punched off the holo.

"And one last thing," Raydoen turned to look at him and the red eyes brightened in their color till they were almost burning in his sockets. "The Jedi. If he wants the weapon, he'll come looking for it again. This time I will deal with him."

* * *

The _Koniduz _came flying through Nar Shaddaa's dense urban maze at full speed, dodging buildings and swooping below girders before finally reaching a scarred section of land far from any inhabited part of Nar Shaddaa. Setting down over the junkyard its engines shut down and the roar of the repulsorlifts drowned in an eerie wave of sorrow. The landing ramp lowered slowly, its gears groaning in need of grease, before it touched down on the muddy soil and lights flickered on around it.

A single set of feet came walking down the ramp, their steps light, as if the soul the feet belonged to wasn't really there.

Skar heard the squish his boots made when they stepped down in the mud, but the sound didn't register. He folded his arms around himself, trying to hold himself together and looked out over the scrap yard of decayed spaceships. Hulls, engines, scarred bridges, wings and many other unidentifiable pieces of age-blackened ship skeletons were scattered as if an armada had been tossed to the ground by some great god.

Everywhere he looked he saw rusted metal, a cemetery for obsolete and broken ships. This deserted place was so far out that Skar couldn't even see the skyscrapers he was so used to anymore.

He walked through the scrap-yard for a couple of seconds, like a zombie, lost in his own thoughts. Seeking a moment for himself to think, he perched himself on the edge of a scraped starfighter wing. Sitting there felt better to him, but the solitude he'd hoped for didn't help make things better. It didn't make the pain go away. He looked around to see if anyone was around, he wouldn't be surprised if all kinds of creatures lurked in this forgotten place.

And when he saw none, he broke.

The tears flooded immediately to his eyes, he was surprised at how well he had been able to hold them back for so long. His throat started to tighten, his face contorted and began to feel warm. He fell down on his knees, but not by his own choice. The tears ran down his face and past his lips, he tasted them, and that taste caught him remembering every other moment in his life where he'd cried.

Every time he'd ever cried he could remember that salt in his mouth. His belly writhed like a snake on fire, his jaw tightening against the tears that flowed. He wanted to scream, he wanted to curse someone, anything. He wanted to cry away the world, wanted to turn back time, wanted to dig himself a hole and hide from everything. He felt trapped in a world where he couldn't do the things he knew would take away the great pain he was feeling inside. He didn't want to believe he was gone, he couldn't believe it.

It was…impossible.

Lwen _couldn't _die. He was everything he'd ever had. He was his…his father, his best friend. He'd always been there, he couldn't be gone. He just couldn't. Guilt broke through his pain, and Skar realized his own failure. He had treated him like dirt.

Skar bent his back down so much that his face almost touched his kneecaps. He'd treated Lwen like dung, he'd left the man behind, called him things he wished he could take back so much. But there was nothing he could do.

Reality crept up his spine and Skar let out a long scream at the stars above him, his cry echoing into the night. Even the screaming wouldn't remove the heavy weight in his chest, or the aching in his head.

Skar could feel a part of him ebbing away inside, a hollow feeling in his knotted intestines, yet a part of him he didn't want to let go of. A part of him he had taken for granted. He felt like he was losing his mind. Full of anger and needing to lash out at someone, anyone, Skar cursed whatever Force that had pushed him into this life, whatever cursed mother who'd ever given birth to him, whatever damned fate he was meant to endure; but no screaming could make it all go away.

Nothing would _ever _make it right.

A soft gloved hand touched his shoulder and Skar looked up at the blurred image of Kayupa standing over him. He looked away from the man and cursed him in thought too.

"I…don't know what to say, Skar. But I know you have to let it be. You must let go."

Skar heard him but didn't want to listen to him. Skar wanted more than anything to drown out Kayupa's presence. To be alone.

"Shut up!" he screamed. "Shut up!"

Kayupa's bandana hovered behind him, a watery look in his eyes. "I'm here. I want to help you. _Please _let me help you."

He stared at Kayupa through blurred vision. "You? You can't help me!"

"Yes, I can."

Skar felt the hollow eating him up inside, the horror and the grief. "You can't…bring back Lwen."

Kayupa felt his throat close tight in sympathy. Shortly after their rescue Lwen had suffered a heart attack due to the stun-blast Shinran had shot in his back. The old man had fallen down and died almost instantly. There was nothing either of them could do. Not even with all their Jedi powers. It was Lwen's fate. Nothing in the Force would give him back life.

Kayupa felt his pain through the Force and they shared it. Skar rolled over on his back in the mud and his mouth clabbered. A shudder quaked through Kayupa. And even more sorrow because of the knowledge that he couldn't help Skar after all. The pain had to be cried away, and Skar deserved the privacy.

Reluctantly Kayupa walked back to the ship, leaving a torn and broken Skar Kjoil behind him. As he came back to the ship he found Master Bo-Hi sitting on the ramp, his mask the only visible face feature within the hood. Behind him the woman made her way slowly down the ramp, shivering as the cold winds touched her.

Kayupa felt a moment of anger seeing her there, and denied himself to feel any sympathy for her.

Master Bo-Hi's hood moved slightly. "Shinran, go back inside."

She shook her head. "No, I don't want to be alone in there - "

"Do it!" Kayupa shouted, surprising himself. "Go back inside! Nobody cares what you want!"

"Kayupa," Master Bo-Hi warned.

He sighed, but it wasn't because of his Master inferring. He sighed because he once again felt the weakness inside of him. The rash and uncontrolled anger. He felt his jaw tighten, and he held up his palms, admitting his defeat. "Fine. Do whatever the hell you want." He lowered his hands and breathed slowly. "Master, you must tell him."

The Jedi Master nodded. "When the time is right."

"He needs to know!" Kayupa insisted. "We're so close!"

Master Bo-Hi put his claws together and formed a temple with them. "I _know_ what he needs," the Master rose, "and I will tell him when he's ready."

Kayupa held out his hand to where he'd left Skar. "Why not now?"

The Jedi Master looked at him briefly. "In his present state?" Bo-Hi shook his head. "It would break him, and he would kill us."

Kayupa scoffed. "I think you're being dramatic." He noticed Shinran still standing on the ramp, listening to their conversation, and wondered if letting her hear these things was unwise. But he doubted Skar would listen to anything she had to say.

The Jedi Master collected his cloak around him. "Dramatic? You don't know the Kjoil as well as I do. Given extreme circumstances, his power might emerge too quickly. It would destroy him, and it would certainly kill us."

"Him?" Kayupa laughed. "He's just a boy."

The Jedi Master's voice became a grim whisper. "The most dangerous men are always orphans. Put Kjoil into the equation - " Master Bo-Hi shivered. "Well, you know their history."

Kayupa found it hard to believe that Skar could be capable of inflicting such disaster at so early a stage. "Master - "

"Kayupa," Master Bo-Hi said softly, but with an edge to his voice, "why did you neglect to tell me that you brought the lightsaber along on your mission?"

The Jedi Knight's eyes fluttered. "I - "

"We've had this discussion before, haven't we?"

Kayupa looked away. "It has nothing to do with that. I just thought that - "

"If it has nothing to do with _that_, why didn't you feel sure enough to tell me?" The Jedi Master rose, folding his hands inside his sleeves. Although the Jedi Master had very little facial expression to make use of, Kayupa had learned to interpret his body language. Disappointment was one of those he knew best. "Is it human nature to think wisely and act foolishly?"

The Jedi Knight knew the discussion could wait and focused on a more present matter. "I'll make preparations for the funeral."

Master Bo-Hi nodded.

Shinran took a step down the ramp, her tension poorly hidden. "I…I want to help with the preparations."

Kayupa snorted. Ascending the ramp he brushed against her hard, almost pushing her over. "You've done enough."

* * *

"We have gathered to bid Lwen Kando farewell."

Lightning touched the ground in the backdrop of the funeral, rain showering over its participants, leaving the tears shed unseen. Three people besides Skar, even the woman with the green eyes and the blond hair, had shown up at the burial site, but Skar had never felt more alone. His insides were writhing in unquenched anger and his heart felt like a black hole where no love could ever be born again. He could feel the Dark Side courting him, begging for his allegiance, but Skar felt it too beneath him; even the Dark Side seemed harmless compared to the damage he felt like distributing. His face was stone, revealing hate and disgust, igniting a fire fueled on bitterness.

But somewhere between the anger and the hate, Skar found he could pass the blame on no one but himself. Skar only imagined how he must have frightened Lwen from time to time. Perhaps he had pushed him too far all these years. Lwen had gone through extreme measures to ensure his safety, and he'd spent his time risking that very safety. People had made huge sacrifices to make sure that he, Skar Kjoil, the last remnant of the Kjoil, Jedi, survivor of the Jedi Purge, would live long enough to carry on the torch, the legacy, of his family.

_No, not people_, he thought. Lwen had done it all. He'd succeeded. Even when he'd been at his weakest, he'd still been there and been an inspiration to Skar. _If only your will hadn't listened to your old heart…you'd still be here_. The tears flowed freely when Skar grieved his own faults as a son, judging himself worse than he'd judged Lwen's actual murderer_. I've lost my only family, the only one who ever cared for me. _Skar only hoped Lwen knew how much he had wanted to make up for his sacrifice, to show him that it wasn't in vain. He hoped…Lwen was proud of him.

"The dead belong to our hearts as much as the living. Their memory as cherished as the company of those next to us."

Skar noticed a glance from Master Bo-Hi standing across from him

"Those that live on to help us and guide in our lives as those we have lost."

Skar looked at the woman, for whom he'd spawned much hate in the last day. He'd traced every line of hate right back to her, and wanted to kill her. Honestly he did. Perhaps that was why she was standing the furthest from him. The others must have advised her it would be safest, if they did they were right. Kayupa had kept her occupied in activities so Skar wouldn't have to talk to her.

Skar found that strange since she had been the one causing all this turmoil, and she'd even pointed a weapon at Kayupa, twice. But he was thankful that Kayupa had put his feelings above his own.

Skar didn't know what he should say to her. Master Bo-Hi had explained how he shouldn't blame her, but he still trembled with hatred just looking at her. He was appalled they were still bringing her with them, and it made him unsure that he wanted to go with them after all. Maybe it was the wrong choice.

_The Force teaches you love for all beings, but even for those who've hurt you? Is there a line to forgiveness? _

He was frustrated. On one hand he wanted to leave Nar Shaddaa behind and continue the path Master Bo-Hi had laid out before him, on the other hand he wanted nothing to do with either of them. A part of him had no doubts about what he had to do, but it was a choice he felt betrayed Lwen's memory. He knew if he started to put up walls now, he might ruin his training forever, but it was what he really wanted. He wanted to exact revenge, he wanted someone to suffer as much as he had. He wanted the pain to be worth it, if only he could squeeze the life out of the one responsible.

Leaving the burial site behind, Skar turned his back to Lwen. He knew he hadn't given a proper goodbye but his feelings were overwhelming him.

Soon enough Kayupa came running up to catch him and got in his way, pushing him back, firmly but kind. Not realizing he'd done it before it happened, Skar put his arms around Kayupa's shoulders and they hugged each other tightly. Having never hugged anyone besides Lwen, it made the pain easier to deal with. A growing friendship existed between Skar and Kayupa, and Skar found his proof in Kayupa's strong return of the hug.

Kayupa ended the hug but held onto Skar's shoulder to comfort him. "What now?" he asked, his face a mirror of Skar's.

Skar shrugged, not really sure about what to do next.

Kayupa gave Skar's shoulder a tug. "We're still with you."

Skar cracked a brave smile. Taking a deep breath, summoning courage, Skar turned to look at the burial site. Master Bo-Hi was already looking back at him.

"You want to train me in the Force."

Moving composed, Master Bo-Hi came up to stand between Skar and Kayupa, his fingertips interlocked. "Your life as a Jedi will not be easy on you, if you choose this path placed before you, then a hard life indeed it'll be." Master Bo-Hi's hands fell down at his sides. "You will leave this sorrow and you must never look back to this point. You must never dwell at this pain. Your eyes must look forward to the future, be who you want to be. And do the things you've only dreamt of doing."

Kayupa nodded in agreement with what Master Bo-Hi said. "This is the moment you've been waiting for. This is one of those moments that decides the future of our fate. Fact, not fiction." Kayupa held out his hand to Lwen's grave. "You have to say goodbye."

Skar nodded and knew then and there which decision was the right one. _I'm really here. A week ago, I was the only one, now I've found a teacher and others just like me. I'm not alone anymore. I'm not the last of the Jedi. _

He walked back over to the grave and didn't even look at the woman who stood back from the burial site as he approached. Crouching down on one knee Skar placed his hand on top of the coffin, an old escape pod which had been the only thing they had to serve the purpose of Lwen's final resting place. His throat clogged and he felt tears pressing behind his eyes. In touching the grave he remembered a poem that Lwen had read to him when he was younger. It was a poem Skar's mother had written to his father;

_wherever I go the memory of you follow_

_your memory takes me through tomorrow _

_and in my actions I hope you will see _

_your undying will fights on in me_

Skar's jaw tightened in pride, his voice barely a stutter. "I know you would have wanted me to be strong…so I'll show you what being strong is all about. Goodbye…and _thanks_."

Master Bo-Hi and Kayupa both looked at him through sympathetic eyes. Skar wiped rain from his face, and nodded resolutely. "Good, now you can bury him."

Kayupa said, "We can never keep moments frozen in time. All we have is memories and if we hold onto them strong enough, sometimes they can be a light."

Skar laughed bitterly and wiped his last tear away. "I hope so too, Kayupa. I want to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi. That's what Lwen hoped I would, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let him down now." Skar nodded towards the woman. "Even if it means bringing her." Skar walked past Kayupa and the Jedi Master. "Lets get out of here."

* * *

When the _Koniduz _left Nar Shaddaa's atmosphere Skar insisted on being up in front of the ship. From the cockpit he watched the stars outside shine like they'd never done before and realized it was his first visit into space. All his life he'd watched ships coming in and out of the clouds over Nar Shaddaa, sometimes wishing he could be onboard one of them.

The thought that his wish had now come true sent rays of light through the dark shroud hanging over his heart. He wanted to smile, but the grief was still too near and his headache cast its own shadows on things.

Skar leaned up against the wall, a content look on his face as he stared at the stars outside the ship. Those once tiny beacons of light suddenly so close, so real and so near he felt he could almost reach out and pluck each one from the darkness. They were glistening, fluorescent, and empowering. They were there, so close. Right there.

_I'm free._

Skar pushed away from the wall and took in a deep breath, knowing he would soon shed tears of joy if he didn't pull himself together. He chose to focus on Kayupa instead, as the Jedi Knight logged in coordinates into the navigation computer. Skar glanced down at a console in the cockpit to see the name 'Nanh' written on a screen. Master Bo-Hi looked over Kayupa's shoulder and nodded.

Then he turned to Skar. "Its quite a way, couple of weeks travel."

Skar shrugged. His journey had already been well underway for the last twenty years, a few more weeks didn't make much of a difference to Skar. "We have all the time we need."

Kayupa flicked a switch, and a screen showed Nar Shaddaa behind them, his home, shrinking into a small ball.

"Wanna take a last look at home?"

"No, thanks," Skar smiled. _My life so far has been a cage, I wasn't ready to be set free. Now I'm ready to handle the life prepared for me. I have to learn about the Jedi so I can learn who I am. _Skar felt his heart tighten at the thought and looked away from the screen, instead he looked ahead to the stars, letting their subtle presence fill him with light again. "Never liked the smell of the place anyway."

Kayupa grabbed onto the hyperdrive activator as the coordinates were logged in and ready. "Let's make our escape."

Travelling between star systems would be impossible were it not for the development of the hyperdrive. The hyperdrive was a combination between the engine and interrelated systems that propelled a starship through the hyperspace. In hyperspace, there was no limit to how fast a starship could travel, and thus interstellar distances could be traversed in mere minutes.

Knowing that made Skar think that if it took weeks to travel to Nanh, that meant Nanh was on the other side of the Galaxy. The thought made him happy, all he ever wanted was to be as far away from Nar Shaddaa. He vowed then and there never to return to that place.

The stars stretched into white lines that imprinted on his eyes as the _Koniduz _entered hyperspace and sped towards Nanh.

Wherever that was.

* * *


	2. First Steps Into A Larger World

_Jedi do not dream. But they do hope…_

_They do hope…_

With a jolt Skar tumbled into awareness inside the cockpit of the _Koniduz_. Shaking off the drowsy feeling pounding in his head he dried the crust from his eyes, noticing Kayupa meditating at the helm in the seat before him. The cockpit was silent except for clicking noises on switches and Kayupa's deep breathing.

It caught Skar by surprise at first since he'd never seen Kayupa sleep or meditate before. He looked a lot like Master Bo-Hi when he meditated, except that Skar noticed small twitches in the Jedi's jaw and his eyelids were moving, almost fluttering. He didn't remember Master Bo-Hi making those twitches.

_He can't be…dreaming? _

Skar studied the small movements and catalogued them as anxiety. Unrest. Kayupa was dealing with something on the inside. Skar was about to wake Kayupa up when he caught a glimpse outside of the cockpit that stole his concentration. Outside the star-lines were a constant image; no beginning and no end. They seemed to go on forever. Skar knew the ship was moving at a speed he couldn't even guess at, but internal dampers kept the artificial gravity alive, and kept him from bouncing around the ship as it rocketed through space. Skar likened it to as if the ship was a planet in itself.

Thinking better of it, Skar decided not to wake up Kayupa and chose to sit back and enjoyed the sight, letting Kayupa rest a little more.

While being mesmerized by the new experience, Skar felt a familiar shape in his clammy hand, something he hadn't noticed there before.. A shape that had become incrusted in his palm for the last couple of days. He had forgotten he'd even had it in his hand. Skar twiddled the small Holocron between his fingers. He remembered seeing his mother for the first time in the Holocron, in an old, flickering hologram transmission. Even though he had never known her, he felt the responsibility he imagined someone would have to a mother.

A dedication and loyalty like nothing else. A wish to repay for being brought into life. She had seemed so hopeful about him becoming a Jedi, and to him it seemed she hadn't really given him a choice, somehow she just knew he would want go. And she was right, the Jedi path was one he desired. Maybe it was in his genes, the Kjoil blood, that he would feel the rightness in that destiny.

Skar looked up as Kayupa stirred and came out of his meditation. He looked over his shoulder at Skar, appearing surprised to find him there. Kayupa's eyes were cloudy and he stretched his limbs, the bones in his arms cracking as he did.

"Got a nice sleep?"

Kayupa made a slight smile and shrugged. "Meditation isn't sleep. It replenishes your strength, but it doesn't come close to being as good as sleep."

"What else does it do?"

Kayupa ran a hand through his long hair and sat on the edge of his seat. "Centers you, when you've got something on your mind," Kayupa said casually, as if he was reading the lines off a script. "Or at least, sometimes it does," he added.

"It just…it looked like you were dreaming."

"Jedi don't dream, Skar."

"I know," Skar said, nodding, "that's why it confused me."

Kayupa yawned. "Meditation is not sleep, its a trance, a state of mind that allows you to collect your thoughts. Center on the things that matter and banish those that don't. Depending on your situation, that process does not always come easily."

He left it at that and Skar found it obvious that Kayupa was anxious about something and wished he would open up to him. Kayupa was good at opening up and sharing his thoughts, but in this respect it appeared to not include Skar. Skar found it difficult not to feel a little bit disappointed and hurt, but hoped he would come around to eventually tell him.

Maybe he blamed himself for Lwen's death, having been unable to protect him from the woman. Something was deeply bothering him, Skar could see it in his eyes. The deeper sadness that'd been there when they'd met was still there.

Kayupa sighed aloud and swirled his seat to look at Skar. "You doing any better?"

Skar searched through his feelings and realized that he was slightly homesick and still suffering his angst from Lwen's death. Master Bo-Hi had said that a person wasn't capable of focusing on one emotion, nevertheless Skar found himself lost inside simple grief. It was very painful. Sometimes he could still feel Lwen inside, talking to him, giving lectures on what to do or how to act. But when Skar listened to the voice, it vanished, like a dream.

Skar nervously rubbed his hands together to rid them of the clammy feeling. A sting ran through his left palm that made him yelp. Skar examined the skin and noticed a cut on his hand, right below his thumb, he had forgotten it was there. The wound was healing, the skin was patched up and only a purple line remained of the injury. When Skar thought back he was able to remember its origin.

_When I carried Lwen to the grave, I cut my hand on the pod. Maybe it will make a scar so I'll remember that day_, Skar thought to himself_. Anyway, I doubt I'll forget._

"Skar?"

Skar ran his finger across the purple line. The sting returned, but Skar didn't shy away from the pain. He found it to be a great distraction from the pain inside him. "Yeah, I hope it will leave a scar."

Kayupa's hoarse laugh made Skar glance up at him.

"What?"

"Skar. Your name!"

"Oh, sorry," Skar forced himself to smile, "what's the matter?"

Kayupa sat back in his seat and folded his fingers on his lap like Master Bo-Hi did from time to time, mostly when he was centered and in focus. "You never told me where you got the Holocron from?"

Skar stumbled on the first word. "Lw-Lwen. He kept it for me. My parents gave it to him so he could pass it to me, so I could become a Knight. Lwen said it held all the answers," Skar sighed and held up the small cube, "here they are. All inside."

Kayupa picked it from his hand and studied it close, his fingers moving over it like a curious child's. But unlike a child, Kayupa's search had a purpose and Skar realized the Jedi was trying to activate it. Kayupa frowned when he failed to do so. "Have you seen all it has inside?"

"Not much, it only teaches lightsaber techniques. There is no other information - "

At that Kayupa scoffed and handed it back, deeming it useless. Skar was puzzled as to why Kayupa reacted so intensely, but blamed it on his anxiety. Rather than attacking the subject Skar evaded it with another question. "So, is Master Bo-Hi as good as he seems?"

Kayupa's brows lifted. "He's the best." He didn't have to say "the best of what's left."

"Did he teach you everything?"

Kayupa leaned as far back into his seat as he could and folded his legs in front of him, scratching his beard. "Try not to think of it as everything, its not everything. Its just tools. He taught me about the Force and he made me a Jedi. I follow the Jedi code, but that doesn't mean I agree with him on everything."

"What don't you agree on?"

Kayupa just stared at nothing for a while. "Too many things, mostly philosophical aspects of life. He lives his life one way, I live my life another. Its the same for everyone, I guess. Even parents and their children." Skar noticed Kayupa's hand caressing the lightsaber at his hip. "The Jedi's role in the universe is the biggest thing we disagree on. He believes a Jedi lives only for the Force and that the Jedi never acts from his own wishes."

Skar nodded. "That's what being a Jedi is all about, isn't it?"

Kayupa's face turned sour. "It leaves you mute, numb, you become a figurehead in life and never achieve anything for yourself. A pawn."

"A Jedi is a servant, not a tool. Master Bo-Hi told me that."

Kayupa nodded. "He'll tell you a lot of things. What you must learn is to see them as advice. Not orders. Learning of many things does not teach intelligence and half of being smart is knowing where you're stupid. You must have your own opinion. Listen to him, then find out if it applies to your beliefs."

"What is it that you want for yourself, Kayupa?"

That sadness came back into Kayupa's eyes, but he swirled his seat back to face the controls, hiding it from Skar. "I want…freedom, the ability to choose my own destiny, to shape my own story. That I can have wishes of my own and that my life is not dictated by the rules of the Jedi. Its true that a Jedi is to serve the Force as I've said before, but the man inside can't be forgotten. Each person can create his own fate, even if it goes against the Jedi philosophy. That's what I believe. We only have the cards that life has dealt us, and we have to live a long time to fully understand the rules of that game."

Skar didn't say anything for a while. "But if Master Bo-Hi doesn't think its right, how can you think it? I mean, he's your Master, your teacher."

Kayupa stared at the stars, lost in his own thoughts and emotions. "No two people are exactly alike, Skar, so if you want to be original, be yourself. Maybe my time for learning is over. Maybe its time I found out what to do with what I've learned." Kayupa shivered as if a sudden cold had touched him and swirled his seat back to face Skar. His eyes had never looked more lonely. "Listen to your heart, Skar. Like I've always said; if it feels right, how can it be wrong?"

Skar nodded. "You said you didn't regret being a Jedi?"

"And I don't. It gives me enormous options about where my life will go, and also the strength to fulfill my personal goals. Ultimately, I guess you could say that the Force symbolizes the power to change everything you think is wrong about the world. We would be fools to not use it." Kayupa smiled. "All this talking, its funny. I'm still not used to us being more than two. I'm still trying to get used to having another one join us. At first it was just me and Master Bo-Hi," he looked down at his hands, "then you came and then Shinran - "

"Shinran?" Skar had almost managed to forget about her. "So that's her name."

Kayupa nodded. "What do you think about her?"

Skar shrugged. "I don't really know what to think."

Kayupa blinked. "Well, you weren't exactly off to a perfect start, were you?"

Skar smiled uneasily, delving into a book that had stayed open for too long. "I think what happened…happened. It didn't have anything to do with her. Lwen just…didn't really belong in my life anymore."

Kayupa frowned. "That doesn't hurt to say?"

Skar nodded. "Of course it does. But I've learned to let it go. I just want to move on, and _look _ahead now."

Kayupa seemed to understand. "Wise choice. Don't dwell in the past. Look to the future." He looked down at his own hands. "I guess that's where the answers lie. I hope we all get along, but getting adapted is not easy for any of us."

Skar crossed his arms over his chest, feeling the strain in his tired muscles. "No, I imagine we all have some mixed feelings about this whole thing."

Kayupa nodded and rose from his seat. He adjusted his belt and stretched himself till his fingers met the ceiling of the cockpit. Then he moved his hands down in front of him and blew out a heavy breath. "I like you, Skar. You're alright. And you'll make a great Jedi."

Skar tilted his head and made a cocky smile. "Better than you?"

"Let's not get carried away," Kayupa said lightly, and for the first time Kayupa smiled genuinely and the mood loosened between them. Skar felt happy for him, seeing Kayupa back to normal was great for him too. Kayupa had become a friend and whatever bothered him bothered Skar. He chose to let Kayupa come to him when he was ready to talk about what was annoying him. Though Skar wasn't used to having friends he knew that respecting each other's boundaries was very important. Him, Master Bo-Hi, Kayupa and even Shinran had to -

Skar found himself facing a question he had completely ignored so far. "Shinran, what is her story? Why is she with us?"

Kayupa stretched his arms to the ceiling and supported himself against a pipe running across it, becoming one giant question-mark. "I…she, well she's coming along, because she wants out of Nar Shaddaa."

Skar frowned. "And we're just helping her?"

A different kind of smile appeared on Kayupa's lips. "I'm hoping she'll stay with us. I like having her around."

At first Skar would have called Kayupa on that comment, but realized it would not set him in a good light. Skar tried not to think about why Kayupa was so keen to have Shinran with them. But even if his hunch was right, why should he tease Kayupa about it? _Time to grow up, Skar._

Kayupa was scratching his beard in another quiet thinking process. "Well, I'm going back to the quarters to train, come with me. I know Master Bo-Hi wants to talk to you to see how you're doing." Kayupa padded his shoulder.

Skar followed his friend down into the living quarters, the part of the ship that had once been a cargo-hold. With the recent addition of personnel, most of the crates had been stacked in a straight line through the middle of the hold, a small depression in the center acting as a doorway, giving the hold the impression of actually being two chambers.

Kayupa stayed in the first half and was soon busy fencing against a hologram projected from the simulator in the floor. Skar hung around to watch his friend practice, having been so impressed the first time he'd seen Kayupa fight. The man's moves were clear and unclouded, his defenses perfect and his attacks precise. Dancing inside the blue gloom that held sway over the entire hold, the man was a moving source of light, a hurricane of power. The blue blade hummed like a generator and Kayupa fueled all its energy into his moves.

Skar whistled enthusiastically at his friend's awesome display of skills, and then almost like an echo a second whistle filled the dense air in the quarters. Skar turned his head to find its source, thinking it might be Master Bo-Hi but doubted the Master would use such a crude means of voicing his approval.

Instead he saw the woman, Shinran, datapad in hands, sitting not too far away on the floor with her back to a crate. Smiling as she also admired Kayupa's performance. Skar felt his own cheeks warm with a touch of sudden anger at seeing her face, seeing her happy, but his head was soon too occupied with guilt.

And for a brief moment he almost walked over and apologized, until he realized he didn't know why he should apologize. He feared the day he would have to talk to her or the day she would come over to him and they'd have to talk. Somehow he just wished he never had to talk to her. That she wasn't here, but then Kayupa wanted her nearby.

Then it happened. Her eyes moved from Kayupa to him, her green eyes staring right down into him, and though her smile remained it lost some of its sincerity. Skar felt a stab of light run through him, a shiver down his spine, and was ambushed by the sudden birth of joy inside him.

Time seemed to stand still and Skar felt his heart start to pound against his ribcage. Shy or maybe as uncomfortable as he felt, she looked back down at her datapad and the moment was lost. Skar stood there feeling impotent and embarrassed in himself. He didn't know if he was being a jerk, but he knew he wanted to move on that moment.

He wanted it back.

Skar shook his head and ridded himself of the feeling.

"Skar."

He turned and saw Master Bo-Hi sitting against the far wall. As Skar approached he noticed the alien Jedi was crouching on a pillow, his hands open on top of his kneecaps, and his head bowed down. Skar could guess the Master's eyes were closed even though the filters covered them. He could hear the hissing of the breathing behind the mask. The skin was pale and yellow and sweat was running down the scalp of the alien's crest. The scar on his face a reflection of past battles.

Skar sat down before him and closed his eyes in a mimic of the Master's posture. Without much help from the pillow he was perched on, the Jedi Master still sat a head taller than Skar. The Jedi Master looked down upon Skar. "Welcome, Jedi."

Jokingly Skar looked behind him to see if someone else was there. "Oh. You mean me."

Master Bo-Hi sat up, the jest lost on him. "How are you feeling?"

Skar closed his eyes and tried to explain his feelings in one word, as Bo-Hi had taught him to do whenever confused. "Uncertain."

Master Bo-Hi closed his eyes and Skar thought he'd slipped into another trance. "Your thoughts lie with….Kayupa."

Skar turned his head to see Kayupa still fighting the hologram, then looked back at the Master. "He's worried about something, and he won't tell me what it is."

Master Bo-Hi took a glance at Kayupa at the other end of the living quarters. "He's got to follow his own path. That's how he is. He won't open until he has checked every resource for an answer, and then finds out he needs advice from others. Kayupa is stubborn about that. Be thankful for his companionship, it will do great things for you."

Skar hoped that was true. "He told me that you two don't always agree on things."

"Every man follows his own wishes, and a wise man is content to feel he's right about something without feeling the necessity to prove someone else wrong. I wish I could change Kayupa's path, but it lies in the Force and it is not for me to change. Whatever he chooses, is what he wants."

Skar agreed. "But why is Kayupa's path not alright? Why is it that you don't agree with him?"

The Jedi Master shook his head and smiled. "I care for him, that is all. I don't want to see him get hurt."

Again the relationship between Master and student, father and son, was evident. Much love was between Kayupa and Master Bo-Hi. But their differences drove them apart. "What is it that Kayupa is worried about? Do you know?"

"It is not for me to say." Master Bo-Hi sighed and reached inside his cloak to extract a small item. As Skar looked closer, he identified it as some sort of plant. But it lived without roots or sunlight, so in fact it might have been an insect of sorts. Its surface was green, scaly like a snake, and instead of tentacles or limbs it had what appeared to be petals from a flower. The insides of it flowed like water and he saw veins running across the surface. Master Bo-Hi held it out and Skar put it into his palms, it fit easily.

The thing moved around as he lifted his hands. It didn't seem to move on its own, it just flowed with his movements.

"This is an aila." Master Bo-Hi explained. "It is a creature of Nanh, one the inhabitants tender like a god. It can cure diseases and lives only where it is most dark. The inhabitants of Nanh revere it and treasure it. When I first examined one, I found that it is an animal with a close kinship to the Force. The Force is what is providing the animal with life. It has not mouths or other ways of eating."

Skar felt the tingly feeling in his palm as the creature rolled along on his fingers. "Its great. I've never seen anything like this. But what is it good for other than helping to cure others? What is its purpose?"

Master Bo-Hi folded his hands together. "You don't see that it is like the Jedi?"

"What?"

"Is it so hard to believe? The Jedi are the followers and protectors of justice and peace, but we are only but one image of the Force. The aila is another, your race, the Kjoil, is one more. The Force is in everything and in some things more than others."

Skar nodded, not sure he wanted to think he was just another aspect of the Force. He was brought up being told he was special. _I'm not some bug._

Master Bo-Hi placed himself closer. Skar observed him as the Jedi seemed to enter another kind of meditative sleep.

"What now?"

"Place your hand on the surface of the aila," the Jedi Master demanded. Master Bo-Hi's stern voice told Skar that he would have no choice. Nor did he have any reason to object out of anything but simple defiance. Curiosity drove him to obey the Jedi's demand. Skar's palm touched the liquid surface and he felt the soft, green material with his fingers.

"Now…I want you to recall the worst moment in your life."

Skar looked up to show his lack of understanding. The Jedi's eyes were still closed and engulfed in darkness. Skar sighed and returned to the aila.

"Whatever." Skar closed his eyes. His worst moment in life. Skar immediately thought of Lwen, whom had been unfairly taken from his life. The feeling of his loss was no match for the gut feeling that what had happened had not been fair. No one deserved to experience that kind of pain of losing someone that dear, no one should have to be put through such a thing.

Nobody deserved pain at that magnitude, no matter what ill they might have caused. No one should have to see their loved ones being taken from life. Skar felt a cold stab of emotion as his anger rose to new heights.

He started to clutch his hand in anger -

"Ouch!" Skar flinched and dropped the aila on the floor as a thorn pricked his palm. He looked at the tiny little point that had not been there when he had touched the aila. Blood dripped from the thorn, as well as from his palm. Skar saw the blood flowing over both his hands now, and shot a cold stare at the Jedi Master. "Why? Why did I have to do that?"

"To make you understand that the pain you harvest, will weaken your touch with the Force. And it will hurt you from the outside just as rough."

Skar looked back down at his hand and then over at the thorn. His connection, however lacking it may have been, with the Force, had an external effect on his surroundings. He understood that Master Bo-Hi had shown him that as a Jedi pain on the inside would be just as harmful on the outside.

His dark emotions and saddened thoughts had flowed through him with the Force and the aila had sensed his negativity. He'd connected with it through the Force. It had returned the same kind of pain that he had channeled through it. He fed it mental pain; it fed him physical pain.

"I think I get it. My hate is what is making me see the world as hateful. If I feel joy, I'll see the world in a better light. It's pretty obvious when you think about it, but as Jedi the effect is more serious."

Master Bo-Hi nodded and his face became grim. "The Force allows you to see the flaws inside. Once you vanquish those flaws, you will be open to its power. But if you concentrate on negativity, the Force will dampen and your connection will fade."

Skar watched his hand, watched the dripping of dark blood onto the floor. _As Jedi, my flaws are keeping me from seeing and feeling the Force. _

The Jedi Master pointed at the aila. "Pick it back up and concentrate on your happiest memory in life."

Skar nodded and picked it back up, careful of the thorn, but noticed the thorn was gone now and Skar touched it again with his palm, hoping for a better result this time. _My happiest memory. _Skar instantly smiled, knowing the exact memory in life that had been his happiest. The first vision of his mother, Sasa Kjoil. Her inner beauty and strength, resembling himself in more ways than he could count. Seeing her had been more than he'd once hoped for, because the pain of knowing it might never happen would dwell too hard in his heart.

Seeing her was something he could never forget, the wave of emotions. So many variations of joy that he could not contain them. So many possibilities and ideas coming to light, a hundred million notes of every single detail about her. The way she spoke, the way she moved, the way her eyes shone with the love that only a mother's could do, and her smile. Last but not least, the things she had said. Revealing the future he had always wanted. A destiny for something greater.

Skar felt a tingling sensation as something inside the aila moved. Small petals wrapped around his knuckles and wrist. Green snakes broke through its surface and tightened around his hand, but not hard enough to hurt him. They tendered his hand, nurtured it. He felt their delicate touch as they massaged his tender hand and his bleeding cut. He felt liquid dripping from inside the vines which flowed inside his wound.

He felt the liquid cleaning the cut, and destroying bacteria. Clearing out any unwanted infections and healing his hand. Being in touch with the plant through the Force, was like standing inside the plant. All around him hummed life and energy. The feeling he'd had on the bridge was returning to him, the touch of the Force.

He pulled the hand back only to see the vines extend themselves as they continued to work on him. They didn't let go, and he smiled at the sight of nature repairing him like a nurse would, only better. Skar laughed slightly as they finished their work. He looked up at the Jedi Master, smiling.

"This is incredible!"

Master Bo-Hi nodded and smiled. "Its the Kjoil in you. You have a certain touch for reaching into not only life in a person, but life in itself. Nature. Every single living being, from small creatures, insects, into plants." The Jedi Master was very pleased. "The Force will help you when you are at peace with it. When you are calm and rid of negativity."

Skar examined his hand, the pain was gone as if it had never been there. A perfectly healed scar was the only evidence of the cut. Skar grinned. _Now I have two scars. One to remember Lwen and one to remember the root of my power. _"I can't believe I'm doing this." Skar bowed his head to the aila and smiled to show his appreciation. "Thank you, little one."

The vines slithered back into their home inside the green aila.

* * *

An hour later, all the bunks and cargo had been cleared out of the living quarters to make as much space as possible for Skar's exercise. The woman, Shinran, didn't seem interested at all, but no space was left for her to pursue another activity so she'd reluctantly participated in the show. Skar had been given an array of clothing, including a full Jedi wardrobe, complete with tunic, pants and cloak, all in the sand-brown colors, like Kayupa's. Kayupa had even been so gracious as to give Skar his bandana. Kayupa had tied it around his head, saying it would keep his sweat out of his eyes. Skar was happy for the gift and recognized it as more than a part of the attire. It showed support from Kayupa. He was only sad he didn't anything to offer Kayupa.

Skar dressed in his outfit and clipped his lightsaber to his belt. Then he walked into the newly created 'training room', and bowed to Master Bo-Hi.

"This will be your first real training in use of the lightsaber. I want you to use the ability you used with the aila. Open up your emotions, feel, don't think. Let the Force guide you. Understood?"

Skar took in the words, and digested them. He blanked his mind. "Yes."

Master Bo-Hi nodded and held out his hands, palms upward. "Before we start; in a Knight there is failure, but to an Apprentice it is called learning. What happens here, good or bad, will not be failure or success. Don't get hung up on your result. Learn from it. Next time you will make a wiser choice, based on what you have learned in previous lessons. This is why its called training, because you learn from your experiences."

Skar felt more secure and Master Bo-Hi's point of view reassured most of his thoughts. It made more sense to think of it as a learning experience. _There are no mistakes, only lessons._ Skar readied himself for combat, no, _training _with the Jedi Master Bo-Hi Dzog, and tried his best not to let too much of his excitement show.

Master Bo-Hi held out a hand, pointing at a wide circle of red paint at his feet that functioned as the training circle. "If you cross this line, you lose the fight. Step inside."

Skar stepped inside, feeling the weight of his lightsaber on his hip, just as Master Bo-Hi walked out of the circle, revealing a lonely single figure crouching on the floor. Skar gasped. Kayupa was sitting there, meditating on the floor, deep in thought, on the other side of the circle, also dressed in his sand-colored tunic. He had thrown his cloak on the floor outside the circle, and his lightsaber rested in his lap comfortably.

_I'm gonna compete against Kayupa!_

No, this couldn't be. They couldn't set him up against Kayupa, there was no hope of him ever winning against Kayupa. Why not fight a hologram? Why Kayupa? Before Skar's questions could be answered, Kayupa moved, his hand reached slowly inside his tunic where he picked out a new bandana. He combed back his long dark hair with his fingers before strapping it tight under the bandana, tightening the knot at the back of his head.

Using telekinesis, Kayupa's lightsaber flowed from his lap into the air in front of his face where it slowly orbited itself, waiting for its master to use it.

_Showoff._

Skar unclipped his lightsaber and cradled it in his hands while Kayupa rose slowly from the floor and the lightsaber followed in air. He opened his eyes and looked over Skar. The bow of respect to his opponent came next before Kayupa plucked his lightsaber out of the air. Skar bowed too though he wasn't sure why. Kayupa was not his inferior or his superior. They were friends. Bowing should not be necessary between friends.

_Oh, and fighting with lightsabers is?_

Skar shook his head and tried to let his anxiety flow out of him with his breath. Kayupa leaned his side against Skar and held his lightsaber in front of his chest. Skar calmed his mind, and focused it to the task ahead, realizing that the fight was already on. He made it his goal to find and flow perfectly with the Force, not to win the fight. The real win in this fight would be if both succeeded, and none lost. Skar realized, having seen Kayupa fight others, that just wasn't gonna happen.

Skar set his worries and prior assumptions of Kayupa aside. Skar didn't care about winning. He cared about perfecting his skills. To him knowing he could his craft was enough.

Kayupa smiled and ignited his blade, covering everything in a blue haze. His smug smile suggested that he wouldn't be able to take defeat. All though that was a good trait in a warrior, dealing with the Force was quite different. There was a very small line between confidence and overconfidence, and overconfidence led to the Dark Side.

"This exercise is for personal curiosity, I must admit. I want to see how good you are with the lightsaber, so that I can judge how I will train with you in the future. Master Bo-Hi has selected me to be your drill-instructor with the lightsaber. You will learn from me, and I will pass my knowledge to you. Absorb what you can, and let the rest come to you through the Force."

Skar tightened his fist around the lightsaber. "Okay." The sharp fire-blade hummed to life in Skar hands, contrasting Kayupa's blue. The match made a gloomy, flaming green light loom over Shinran and Master Bo-Hi who'd taken up spectator seating on the cargo crates.

Master Bo-Hi nodded to them both. "Open yourself up to the Force. Let it fuel your moves and drive your emotions. May the Force be with you."

Skar took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and did what he had done with the aila. He opened his mind and felt the Force tingling all around him. Only when he was at complete touch did he make his move. Or rather, the Force made its move, that was how it felt. He was only a conduit for its power, a vector for its awesome surge.

Kayupa saw it coming, or felt it, and took a short jump back, parried as Skar's fire-blade struck down hard. Kayupa pushed his blade back up and hacked at Skar's open area. Skar rolled back, evading the strike, and coming back on his feet.

Kayupa didn't waste a second, he came jumping towards him and Skar launched himself forward as well. They met halfway, their blades sparked in midair and Skar landed again in the same spot, while Kayupa continued to fly for ten feet, but still remained within the circle.

Skar swirled and his blade followed the motion. Kayupa ducked and then lunged fiercely hard at Skar's side. Skar parried and forced Kayupa's blade up and lunged at Kayupa's open section. Kayupa parried perfectly, before producing two quick strikes that sent Skar face first to the floor.

Grunting, Skar rolled away before Kayupa could reach him and jumped to a stand.

"Try more powerful parries," Kayupa instructed while reasserting himself. "Power is not revealed by striking hard or often, but by striking true."

Skar frowned. "I'm doing as best as I can." He really was, only he couldn't produce the same kind of strength as Kayupa could. Someday he might but it was too early for him to train against a seasoned swordsman like Kayupa. He could parry most of the strikes but Kayupa always bested him in pure strength, some inner surge that kept him powerful.

The thought of Kayupa acting aggressively because of his own emotional problems suddenly occurred to him.

Hesitantly Skar moved forward, with his blade ready to fend off any strikes. After a couple of feints, Kayupa tricked in a quick stab, straining Skar's weak parry and forcing him back. Skar cursed and caught a glimpse at Master Bo-Hi who was looking at Kayupa in a very resentful way. Skar chose to ignore Kayupa's advice.

_Calm, passive._

Kayupa didn't give him time enough to recover completely. The Jedi circled and pounded his blue blade on top of Skar, who barely managed to brush the blade aside with his. Kayupa jumped back shortly before coming back in for another attack, but Skar parried his strikes and kept the match at an even.

Skar could sense some friction in the way Kayupa moved around and the way he fought. He fought aggressively, passionate and very eager. Almost too eager. Not the way a Jedi should fight. It almost seemed as if Kayupa enjoyed fighting and from what he'd learned that was not a good thing.

As for himself , Skar could feel the Force guiding him, touching him, and moving him where it wanted him to be. It wasn't as if it took over him anymore, it just pushed him in the right direction and opened his senses wide like small satellites of perception. Every detail and aspect of the moment moved through Skar, and even before he could think of a strike, he'd already executed it. He felt strong, brave and most of all; in touch with the Force.

Skar fought on.

* * *

On top of his crate Bo-Hi watched the match, knowing Skar was wondering why he'd been set up against Kayupa and Bo-Hi could only smile at the reason.

_He will know when he is in touch. Its only a matter of time. He's doing better than I would have expected. Its the Kjoil in him._

Skar was slightly timid of him, he knew. It was better to patch him up with someone at his own age and someone like himself. Though Skar had clearly stated his wish for slow advancement into the training, he still seemed to enjoy fighting Kayupa. But where Skar was wisely cautious about his progress, he still had a lot of eagerness in him.

Bo-Hi sighed. It seemed all of his apprentices, even those who had died in the Purge had been so in the beginning. Too eager to learn how to master this powerful gift given to them. It was only when they had been training for some years, when they began to understand what the Force really was, that they realized how little it had to do with what they wanted to do with it. Kayupa still hadn't learned that the Force was not for the individual but for the whole. The bigger picture.

The Force indeed was a tool, Bo-Hi agreed with Kayupa on that, but one to be treated with the highest respect possible. Misuse and abuse would lead to darkness and very few apprentices knew that from the start.

Bo-Hi was proud of how well Skar already fought, precise, tempered, concentrating. It was as though he spent more of his energy thinking and focusing on the Force to read Kayupa's attacks than to simply apply a good attack. He had all the foundations to one day be a master swordsman, it almost came by nature to him. Skar unwillingly became a defender whereas Kayupa took on the role of the aggressor. Skar already knew Kayupa's moves in advance and used that knowledge to evade traps and dangerous plots directed by Kayupa. Where he failed, he failed only in physical strength, in that department Kayupa had a great advantage in his training. Skar ducked, rolled, blocked, parried, defended and always stayed at a clear distance of Kayupa.

Though he had reservations about Kayupa taking the role of aggressor upon himself, he reasoned that it was better for Skar to learn defense before he moved on to learn how to combine it with an attack. Kayupa was the aggressive party, always striking, swirling, trying to send Skar on his back.

Bo-Hi knew that Kayupa would never take defeat well. And in his anxiety right now, it would be catastrophic for him to suffer loss.

_Time will tell then, who's more in touch with the Force. _

Bo-Hi made a promise to himself that once he got the moment he would talk to Kayupa so this anxiety could be thwarted.

* * *

Kayupa drove against Skar's defenses for a few hours before putting an end to it. Close to the end, Skar was heaving for his breath, but still managed to hold his lightsaber straight. Kayupa knew the heavy breathing was due to the fact that he hadn't learned to replenish his strength with the Force like Kayupa had.

_That is enough for now. _

Kayupa felt the emotion of satisfaction from his Master and agreed mentally, only hoping it would have come an hour earlier. Though exhausted, Skar had come through in a most amazing way in the last hour, and although Kayupa suspected the Kjoil was too tired to notice it, he could have won the match. He powered down his blade and bowed traditionally to Skar.

But the Kjoil still staggered forward, like a drunken man, his blade still burning, and his drowsy eyes eager for victory. Kayupa couldn't help smiling when Skar slumped to the floor in a heap. His chest heaving and his breath shallow. Skar looked like a wounded animal, still eager to fight and not ready to quit. He tried to stand, but his arms weren't strong enough and his face slammed down onto the floor.

Master Bo-Hi came into the circle, padded Kayupa on the shoulder and stepped between them. Master Bo-Hi bowed down next to Skar and squeezed his shoulder. "Do you know where your failure laid?"

Skar mumbled something into the floor neither Jedi could discern.

"You went into the fight already convinced you were going to lose; that's why I chose Kayupa to be your drill-instructor. Because you believed you could not defeat him. Its important not to let your previous assumptions affect your - "

Kayupa grinned. "Master, I don't think he's hearing you. Let him rest."

Bo-Hi chuckled and supposed Kayupa was right. "Relax, Skar. I realize today was hard on you, and it will get harder. Today was just to give you a crash-course into the methods. Now you've become accustomed to the lightsaber. And you'll know what to expect the next time."

Skar's lips twitched but Bo-Hi wasn't sure if it was a smile or a spasm.

"Good work, both of you." Master Bo-Hi nodded to Kayupa and walked away.

Kayupa gave him a long stare before looking down at the fallen and helpless Skar.

Skar's eyes were fighting to focus as his mouth pulled back in an evil sneer.

"Next time…you won't be so lucky."

Then he passed out in a daze of dreams.

Kayupa wanted to smile at the brave Skar but his feelings were elsewhere. Kayupa counted his luck and his pride stung under the emotion he'd gotten from Master Bo-Hi during the session. If Skar had only not focused on his assumptions regarding Kayupa, he might have taken him.

Eager for answers Kayupa set off to catch up with Master Bo-Hi who was halfway up the stairs to the cockpit.

"Master, don't walk away from me. I - "

Master Bo-Hi turned. "You will change your tone of voice."

Kayupa realized his own failure. He hadn't intended a tone of anger. _Why did I do that? _"I'm sorry, Master. I meant no disrespect."

Master Bo-Hi nodded. "What was it you wanted?"

Kayupa straightened out and walked with his Master to the cockpit where Skar or Shinran wouldn't overhear them. Kayupa lowered his voice as much as he could, while keeping an eye down the stairs for either of them. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

Kayupa drew in a deep breath. "Skar's fighting. You said he had skill, but he was - " Kayupa paused as if the words hurt him, " - his fighting style was like nothing I've ever seen. How did he learn so much so quickly?"

Master Bo-Hi leaned against the cockpit's navigator chair, a shrewd look on his face. "Is this a question about why he did so good, or why you did so poorly?"

Kayupa shrugged. "Its not that I think I'm _that _good. I just didn't expect it. I didn't think he was that far ahead in his training."

Master Bo-Hi nodded. "Its the Kjoil fighting style, they developed their own. Its born into him by his family." The Jedi Master hugged himself. "Like all their gifts and traits, its genetic. I am not surprised to see it flourish, which was another reason I pitted him against you. I needed him distracted; in danger the most instinctive emotions come forth. His survival sense must have triggered it."

"It took a lot out of him. If he hadn't exhausted himself I doubt I could have - "

"Taken him?" The Jedi Master finished the sentence. "This is not failure on your part, my apprentice. Few Jedi in history have stood against a Kjoil and won." His face darkened. "Infact, as I recall no one has."

Kayupa felt slightly better. "I see now what you meant back on Nar Shaddaa. The emotions are what drives the Kjoil to excel. They don't need restraints, their feelings are what makes them powerful. Do you think this happened to Skind - "

Master Bo-Hi shook his head as if to wave off Kayupa's question. "I don't know all the answers yet. I too need time to ponder."

Kayupa bowed. "As you wish, Master."

* * *

_Jedi do not dream. They either just sleep peacefully or they receive visions. But those visions only come if they can help you. _

_The dream was a warning._

Lost inside a world of dreams, Skar received an odd vision of the hazy future that awaited him. Subconsciously he knew that it was a dream, but he was still surprised at how vivid it felt. He was standing on a lush green field with tall grass and mountains in the horizon, there was a soothing breeze that washed over him, cooling him. His fingers caressed the grass that almost reached his hips as he walked through the beautiful and serene landscape.

A part of him wondered if receiving visions through the Force meant that it was like seeing the future. A vision could be so many things, the one he'd had on Nar Shaddaa had convinced him that it was the past that he'd seen. If he could see the past, other people's pasts, did that mean he could also see the future?

And if that was so, did it mean that the future was already set in stone? He didn't like to think that, he wanted to feel he was able to choose his own destiny. After all, that was what being a Kjoil was all about.

Pushing those thoughts aside for the moment and just enjoying the spectacle, he walked on through the grass. It occurred to him that he had never seen grass before, or felt it. He wondered how accurate a vision could be, wondered if the sensation of the grass slipping between his fingers was how it really felt. He decided that it didn't really matter right now, and hoped that if it was a vision, it was one of the future. He could see himself living a good life there, on a world so natural and invigorating.

He started climbing up a small hill, hoping for an even better view of the world on top. As he reached its peak he was blinded by the dominant sun, forcing him to look away. Covering his eyes with his hand provided enough shade for him to try and look again. As he looked up, he pondered why he was alone on the world.

And found he was not.

Stormtroopers, millions of them clad in white shining armor, were matching across the plains before him, leaving a trail, as wide as the hill he was standing on, of flattened grass. Skar's first instinct told him to run, but there was nowhere to run to. He felt the ground begin to shake as the millions of armored feet approached the hill at a steady pace. The hill began to shake so violently the closer they marched and Skar lost his footing.

Tumbling down the hillside he cursed his luck that he fell down on the wrong side. With each uncontrolled roll he fell closer to them, closer to a battle he felt sure he could not win.

His body smashing against the ground, he laid there sprawled for a few seconds before finding the strength to push himself up. When he did a stormtrooper was so close that its armored shoulder pushed him back down.

Wherever he looked, stormtroopers occupied the view, shining even brighter than the sun. They didn't even turn to look down at him. Mesmerized by their behavior he slowly stood and placed himself within their lines so he wouldn't be pushed down again. Like mindless puppets they marched on up the hill behind him.

_What the hell is going on? _

Frustrated and confused, he drew his lightsaber and executed a wide slash around him. Four troopers fell to his blade, their pieces of armor collapsing and falling apart as if no one was inside the perfect white armor. The rest of the endless army still marched, stepping over his slain victims without a second thought. But as he looked back at the lines where the troopers he'd killed should have been, new troopers completed the rows.

_When I kill one, more appear. How can I win? _

The troopers continued on across the grass and up the hillside, despite his efforts to kill them. Skar grew more frustrated and powered down his lightsaber.

_This is pointless! _

Skar looked down at the shattered armor by his feet and he crouched down. Lifting up a helmet he found that there was a face inside it. But it was not that of a human, but an alien of a species he had never seen.

The skull shape seemed different from humans and the skin was almost reptilian. Strong muscles, clearly groomed by war and combat. Scars ran deep in the flesh and patterned tattoos covered the most parts of the face.

_After I kill a stormtrooper this alien arrives, a warrior of another world. Will an even greater threat come than the Empire? An alien threat?_

Skar looked back up, only to find the millions of stormtroopers had been replaced with aliens of the same species as the one whose head he held in his hands. Only they weren't marching, they were standing still in place, surrounding him.

Staring back at him.

Fear set in immediately as he stood and dropped the head from his hands. His spine felt like thousands of spiders were crawling up and down . Skar jumped back and powered his lightsaber back up again. He then lunged forward at the closest alien and came down with a high chop that should have severed the alien in two.

The lightsaber didn't even dent it.

_Something is coming. Something more dangerous than the Empire. And I'm the only one who knows. Why me? Why am I having these visions? Is it part of my heritage? _

Skar went in for another strike, but to the same end. The alien pushed forward and kicked him to the ground. Laying there, he could hardly control his fear. A part of him wanted to cry out for someone to help him, but he knew he was alone. No one would come.

The alien stood above him, and Skar could only watch in terror as the alien made a feral grin and raised its arms in a majestic V to the sun.

_Hey?_

The alien roared in its own tongue and Skar's ears began to hurt -

"Hey?"

Skar awakened on his bunk to a gut-wrenching sensation. Someone was standing over him, just like the alien had, but Skar couldn't make out the face. Nauseous, he pushed the person aside and ran as fast as he could, only he didn't know where he was going. His stomach convulsed and he fell to his knees just before he vomited all over the floor before him. His entire body felt like it was going to explode, with the horrifying vision of the future replaying before his eyes. A vision he didn't entirely understand, but still knew must be true, Kayupa had told him so.

Skar wiped the sweat from his brows, wiped the saliva from his mouth and tried not to smell the sour stench of his own puke as he got back up and slowly walked back to his bunk.

As he reached it he noticed the person he'd pushed aside was still sitting there.

_Shinran._

"Are you sick?" Her green eyes looked at him questioningly but Skar didn't know what to tell her. Didn't know if he had anything to tell her. As he tried to brush her away she pushed him back from the bunk and he stumbled over on the floor.

She towered over him and pointed a finger at his face. "_What _is your problem!"

Skar could feel her rage inside, though he figured it wouldn't take a Jedi to know she was ticked off. "I'm sorry, I…I didn't…"

Scowling, she crossed her arms across her chest. "What? You thought you could just ignore me like you have been so far?"

Skar tried to talk but words had left him. _Isn't it me who's supposed to be yelling at her?_ "N..No…I want to…I haven't been-"

"Oh yes, you have! And you know it, you're just too big a coward to tell it to my face."

Skar rose up on his elbows. "First off; yes, you're right. I have been avoiding you," he confessed. "But I am not a coward!"

For a brief moment something tucked at the corner of her lips, a very faint smile, but she turned her face away before Skar could find its root. She must not have wanted him to see that smile. Before he could find out what had brought it, she sat back down and padded the bunk beside her.

"We have to talk."

Skar almost heaved a second time. But despite his reservations towards her there was something about her. Skar got the feeling she wanted to understand him and to be understood in return. And he found it odd to realize it was the first time he really looked at her, really took the time to study her and find out what or who this person being really was. She looked about the same height as him, probably the same age too. Her oval eyes had a charismatic green to them, that matched perfectly with her blond hair that was tucked carefully behind her ears.

She'd been donated clothes from the ship, but the selection in women's wear was lacking. She was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt that was two or three sizes too big for her. A pair of dirty black workpants. He'd seen her get onto the ship the night Lwen had died, and Skar remembered her as sickeningly pale and very thin. She's gotten her physique back in the last few days on the ship, despite eating nothing but porridge, and her color.

She looked almost human again.

Skar had met, or seen, women before but this one looked very different. He immediately understood Kayupa's interest in her. _She's…very pretty. Sure, its easier for Kayupa to be caught up in her looks; she hasn't killed one of his relatives. _Skar flinched at the thought. "Well, I'm here now, what do you want to talk about?"

Sitting on his bunk, she leaned up against the wall and folded her legs in front of her. "Your uncle."

Skar felt his heart miss a beat and a sting drove through it. "Well -"

"I want you to know I never intended to hurt him. Honestly. I was scared, nervous. He punched me and I saw Kayupa lift his blaster so I did what anyone would do; I pulled the trigger. I know its of little consolation, but I meant that shot to hit Kayupa."

The wave of shame and disappointment coming from her told Skar she meant what she said. But he pushed away the desire to comfort her. He wished he'd learned to use telepathy so he could comfort her mentally, thinking physical touch was not called for so early in their knowing each other, or at such an occasion. But he could still feel her need for redemption. Somewhere inside her was a dripping self-confidence going on empty. She had many unanswered questions in her.

As she went on talking, her voice stuttered, sounding very fragile. "It was the first time I've ever shot anyone. The first time I'd even held a blaster."

Skar sat forward. "Kayupa said you had your own blaster?"

"I took it from one of the dead guards. Kayupa didn't know. I only planned to use it in case he didn't live up to his word. I was afraid he'd kill me once we got outside."

Skar rubbed his jaw, feeling the small hairs starting to grow there."But he didn't try to kill you. And I know he never would have. And I saw you from the ship. You weren't provoked and you were in no danger. Why did you -"

"Take your uncle hostage? Good question." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I was afraid. I've never been given many chances in life. My life has always been humble. I've begged for food, credits. I was born on the streets, raised on the streets. Watched men cower for a few credits. Disgusted by my own life and my family. Ate what others threw away."

Skar tried to understand, but how could he? He'd never lived that kind of life. He felt bad for all the times he'd walked past the homeless and denied them food or water. Not that he had any to spare. But hearing it from her point of view made him feel sorry. "How did you end up in the dungeon?"

"My father was killed by someone who worked for the Rancor League. He took me with him, I don't know why, but he sold me as a slave to that weapon's dealer, Sasori, or whatever his name was."

Skar wanted to stroke her hand to comfort her, but still held back. He couldn't explain why he was being so careful. She looked so fragile and Skar felt like he'd explode soon if he didn't do anything to help her, to comfort her…to _touch_ her.

"How long were you there?"

She thought. "For two years, I guess. I thought Kayupa was a dream. I thought it was just another foolish dream of being rescued."

The word dream made Skar's thought drift back to the vision he'd seen. A touch of fear collected in his guts, which reminded him of how sick he really felt. Reminding him of his little accident on the floor. Skar's jaw clenched, looking away and trying not to imagine the sight and smell of his own vomit.

She noticed it and placed a comforting hand on his thigh. "Are you sick?"

The touch of her hand sent shivers through him, and pushed away any nausea. "No," he mumbled, "I just…had a bad dream."

She raised her eyebrows. "Oh." A light chuckle followed shortly. "If anyone asks, we'll just blame it on the food."

Skar grinned. "Yeah," he smiled shyly, "at least then no one will question it."

She laughed. "That's true."

And there, as they sat there and laughed, Shinran turned into a friend, no longer the accused murder of his uncle. He couldn't explain why, but he knew the grudge he'd carried towards her, was no more. She was still laughing when he gathered the courage to finally stroke her hand. She looked up at him and smiled.

That simple smile was like a ray of sunlight breaking through stormy clouds. "I'm past what happened that night, and I want you to be, too."

She blinked. "Thank you, Skar. I was hoping you would come around to that thought. Master Bo-Hi told me you would in time. He's wise, you know."

Skar nodded. "He is."

She sniffed. "He told me a lot about the Force, right after he assured me that I'm not Jedi material. I never thought I was, though. But being around all you guys made me wonder. Peer-pressure, you know. Caught up in the crowd." She made an awkward smile, testing if a joke was in place.

Skar chuckled, feeling much better about himself and seeing some glimpses of a future with this woman.

Shinran sat at the edge of the bunk. "Tell me about that fight yesterday."

Her bringing that subject to his mind made him feel like a Jedi again. "It made me come closer to the Force. I fought better only because of it. Now I can touch the Force whenever I want. I can feel what you're feeling. I can read your mind if you'd like me to try."

She brought her head up. "Don't bother. I don't want to give you any bad dreams." She looked out at the rest of the living quarters, seeing Kayupa's and Master Bo-Hi's sleeping forms. "Master Bo-Hi seemed…unhappy about Kayupa yesterday."

Skar was surprised. _She picked up on that? So it wasn't just me? _"Kayupa is fighting something right now, I guess. On the inside."

She scoffed. "A cold perhaps?"

Skar understood she was referring to the way Kayupa had been shutting her and everyone else out ever since they'd left Nar Shaddaa. He'd been solitary and kept to himself.

"Aren't you two friends?"

Skar thought of Kayupa and himself as friends, but the fact was that they'd only known each other for a few weeks. Skar saw Kayupa as a friend who was just dealing with some issues, that he would share with Skar when he was ready. Skar respected that. "He'll tell me when he's ready."

"Maybe he's doubting himself. I know what that feels like." Shinran looked lost. "Like Master Bo-Hi said; The Dark Side is always with us, watching, praying for us to fail."

Skar nodded. "Then we must make sure we don't fail."

Shinran looked at him in a way that told him what he'd said didn't hold up in real life and frowned. "Easier said than done."

Skar leaned closer to her. "You don't have much confidence in yourself, do you?"

"No."

"Why?"

She rose from his bunk and made a casual gesture. "When hopelessness is all you've ever seen, you begin to wonder if there really is anything else."

The living quarters was silent for a long time. They just sat or stood there, sharing the confusion and angst. Skar folded his hands in front of him, the way Kayupa did when he wanted to appear sincere, drew in a big breath and closed his eyes. "Sometimes, Shinran, if you believe something to be real, it becomes real. Real enough. You're working against yourself."

Shinran glared at him. "What is it with you Jedi? Not everything can be fixed and I didn't ask for your advice. I guess it must be a Jedi-trait. Goodnight." She started to turn but never made it all the way. "Oh, and if you think I'm gonna clean up your little mess just because I'm the only woman onboard, you can forget it!" She finally turned and walked to her own bunk far away in the other end of the living quarters.

And although her last words were a mixture of sarcasm and bitter humor, although his body still shivered with the fear of his vision, although the taste of bile in his mouth made him sick, and although he still had to clean up his own vomit, he still found reason enough to smile.

"Goodnight, Shinran," he whispered.

* * *

The next day Skar was enjoying the wonderful cardboard taste and delightful green color of the ship's finest porridge. The bile in his mouth combined with the sand-like chewing actually achieved a Jedi-like test. Skar took in a spoonful of the green goo and before the taste set in on his tongue, he would connect himself with the Force and set himself outside his own senses. Instead he drifted among the channels of the Force, enjoying enlightenment, while his body suffered the torture of the finest dining the _Koniduz _had to offer. When he found what he needed, distraction, he returned to his body and saw the empty bowl on the table in front of him. But the aftertaste still lingered in his mouth with bitter and sour disgust.

_Gotta remember to fix the aftertaste next time._

As he looked up he found Kayupa sitting across from him at the table, no food present, leaned back in his seat with an entertained look on his face. He squinted his eyes. "Nice trick you got there. Guess its better than actually eating that stuff."

Skar dropped his spoon into the empty bowl and set it aside. "Is that what you do?"

Kayupa lifted an eyebrow. "Have you seen me eat anything in the past weeks?"

Skar thought it over and realized he hadn't. "How do you do it?"

"By tuning into the Force I receive the nourishment and energy my body needs. Its a simple technique, like meditation, it powers you. A fully trained Jedi can go days without proper food, but its only used if he is stranded and without any other choice. Its not healthy for the body, and an unhealthy body affects your connection with the Force."

Skar wiped his mouth with a piece of cloth, a little bit irritated at himself that he hadn't learned proper meditation yet. "I haven't learned any of those. I've learned to connect with the Force, and it gives me some nourishment, but its mostly nourishment for my soul and mind, not my gut. And its not enough to last without food for as long as you have."

Chuckling, Kayupa waved his hair back and Skar noticed the brown hair was starting to look very greased, he wondered if Kayupa had even bothered to shower while on the ship. The lines around his eyes and the paleness of his face made him look drained. Skar wondered if he looked as bad, and longed for a mirror or any reflective surface so he could see if the hunch was correct. And to see how his stubble was looking.

"You better take it slow. For now concentrate on your lightsaber skills. The rest will come later."

Skar nodded. "You wanna train with me again?"

Kayupa's eyes fluttered. "Not right now." He looked away. "Not right now."

Skar felt the emergence of Kayupa's inner turmoil and decided to pick a topic that he knew would lighten him up. "So. Shinran and I are getting along now. The first time we talked she explained me everything about that night, and I think we're past the silence."

Kayupa's wandering eyes found their way back to him and he smiled. "Good." He sat forward and leaned in close to Skar. "Tell me what you think of her?"

Skar felt slightly blushed. "I think she's great. I like talking to her."

"No, Skar," he looked around for anyone else and then leaned even closer, eyes wide. "Physically!"

Skar laughed. "Oh!" Now he felt really embarrassed. "Well, I think she's…she's very…um…attractive."

Kayupa smiled, a broad smug grin, and shook his head. "You may become a Jedi, but it looks like I'll have to teach you how to be a man too."

The two laughed together and enjoyed a long talk about Shinran and Jedi training afterwards. At no point did Kayupa come even close to talking about what bothered him, and Skar got tired of looking at his sulky face. Skar was getting sick of waiting for him to open up and he began to feel that Kayupa had lost trust in him. That hurt him as well as angered him because it testified that what Kayupa was hiding was something about Skar.

The next hour Kayupa shared many stories with him about his adventures as a Jedi. Filled with drama and egocentric details about himself and his, always present, superiority in combat. Skar began to see the idol transform into a man whose pride had taken a beating. Which was why Skar guessed that Kayupa had begun talking about past times. To remind himself of prior victories.

To remind him that he was still a hero.

"So these four guys were charging on me, I had my lightsaber out, and I - " Kayupa stopped abruptly.

Skar looked up and saw Shinran, on her way over to their table. She smiled at them both and sat down at the end of the table.

Kayupa looked like someone had just chopped off his tongue.

Shinran raised her eyebrows. "Go on. Continue your story."

Skar watched Kayupa's face move into embarrasment and he rose from the table. "Some other time perhaps. I should be watching the helm." Clumsily he managed to remove himself from the table and left for the bridge.

"You know we're in hyperspace, right, Kayupa? No need to be 'watching the helm.'" Shinran said, but the Jedi was already gone by then. Shinran sighed and placed her elbows on the table and pressed her palms against her cheeks. She looked miserable. "I don't think I'll ever understand any of the men on this ship. You're supposed to be the saviors of our Galaxy, yet whenever a woman comes close you run for your mother." She raised her arms in lighthearted confusion. "Such delicate creatures they are."

Skar laughed and scooted his chair closer to her. His face lightened with a joking smile. "I haven't run for my mother. I don't have a mother."

Her expression told him _nice try_.

"Listen. Don't give Kayupa reason to be upset." Skar cleared his throat. "You know he has feelings for you."

Shinran was unaffected. "His feelings are his."

"The Jedi avoid conflict." Skar ventured.

She looked at him. "Well, I'm not Jedi, Skar. And shouldn't the Jedi also trust their own feelings?" She looked away in frustration. "I have none for Kayupa. He's too self-involved."

"Still, go easy on him. He's just tense right now."

"Right now? He's been tense ever since I met him."

Skar thought back. "He wasn't this way before he went to rescue Lwen. But when he came back, he was changed. Something happened to him there."

Shinran looked puzzled. "Do you think he's tense because of me? He's a grown man. Why doesn't he just come clean?"

Skar shrugged. "He's just that way, I guess. There hasn't been a lot of - " he was about to say 'love' but thought better of it - "people in his life."

Shinran sighed. "I will deal with him some other time."

He nodded slowly. "Good."

She looked over at him and took time to choose her words. "Skar, you don't have to mediate everything, you know? Stop trying to fix everything. Some things are best left broken."

Skar's eyes narrowed. "I just want - "

"But its not always about what you want, Skar. In life, it rarely ever is. We're your friends, not your homework."

He would have been upset, but her smile smoothed any resentment. "I guess you're right. Its just…well, you know. You came from a very tough place, you must have dreamed about something better."

She frowned jokingly. "No, that thought never occurred to me at all. Silly me."

Skar chuckled and continued his explanation. "Its just that I've wanted this," he held out his hands to take in the whole living quarters, "this place in my life. Its here I've always wanted to be. Its here I belong, in training, becoming a Jedi. Its what I've always wanted. But there are pieces of it that don't match. Kayupa's problems, him and you - "

"Was Lwen's death included in that dream?"

Skar felt like his heart had been nailed to the wall, but a quick search of his emotions showed him that she was right. "No. He wasn't. He wouldn't have belonged here. I guess…he would have held me back from being what I want to be."

She glanced away. "I'm amazed how easily you can say that."

"Lwen would never have let me leave Nar Shaddaa. He would have kept me hidden there until his dying day. That's why it comes easily; I have been given many new options in the outcome of Lwen's death. A new best friend," Skar smiled lightly, "heck, even _having _a friend is new to me. And there's Master Bo-Hi who's going to teach me."

She nodded and made a cute little smile. "Was I in that vision?"

He blushed. "In a way you were."

"Really?" She was surprised. "What way was that?"

He pulled in a big breath and summoned the courage. "In my vision, it wasn't Kayupa who had feelings for you."

Her eyes widened slightly, but he read much in the way she looked at him. Like she really looked at him for the first time. And though it wasn't through the Force, he could see deep inside of her and he found something there. A glimmer of something. Something he ached for. The tension between them almost choked him and he felt relieved when she finally broke the stare.

Skar finally let his breath out.

She kept her eyes away from his. "Kayupa is no fool, you know, I can tell it in his eyes. He seeks something, and he can't wait to find it. His search I won't disturb."

Giddy as he felt, he knew the moment had come and gone and there was no sense in pursuing it. Patience was one of the Jedi's most cherished traits. At least he'd put the thought in her head, it was up to her to decide out whether or not the thought was going to remain just that.

Skar touched the Force and felt through Shinran's emotions. "You came here for the same reason. The same reason I'm here. To find out who we are. "

She smiled and looked back at him, and Skar could swear something had changed in her eyes. "Yeah," she said lightly, "but have you found what you came for?"

Regarding his training Skar realized he had, but not the whole, just clues and hunches about where to look. Regarding everything else he had found more than he could ever have hoped for. "No, just a piece of it."

The ship came to an abrupt stop and the entire living quarters rocked. Skar went flying out of his seat and pounded up against a crate as the ship froze in its place. Looking up he saw Shinran come flying towards him, but he held up his hand and summoned the Force to use telekinesis to land her safely next to him. The ship calmed down and Skar looked around at the tumbled crates and upside down bunks.

Shinran gathered herself and Skar helped her up. "What was that?"

_We've come out of hyperspace. _"I don't know. We are not at Nanh yet, not for another week. Come on!"

They ran out of the living quarters and up the stairs to the cockpit. Skar could immediately sense and almost taste the bad mood in the small cramped cockpit with the Force. Master Bo-Hi was seated in the navigator's chair behind Kayupa's first seat. Kayupa was busy punching controls and franticly getting their shields up.

Master Bo-Hi just stared at the scene outside the cockpit with a sad look.

Skar hunched down next to Master Bo-Hi and touched his shoulder. "Master, what's going on?"

Master Bo-Hi looked at Skar with a look that made Skar's heart cringe and curl up into a little ball. "War."

A siren wailed loudly over the cockpit, but Kayupa silenced it with the push of a console. "Don't worry. Just a proximity-alert."

Skar took his first look out the screen. "Proximity to wha - ?"

Outside the _Koniduz _a harrowing space battle was taking place between a group of Rebel traders and star pirates. Pirate starfighters were streaking past large missile frigates and capital ships, grazing their hulls with burning red rays of light. The ships' shields sparked and cracked under torpedoes launched from the attacking starfighters. The ships were ripped apart by laser fire and exploded in flaming balls of shrapnel.

The starfighters streaked again over the Rebel defense ships, crippling their weapons and leaving them dead in their wake. The Rebel haulers were lost without their defense-ships and were now open for the taking by the predatory attacks of the pirates. Skar spotted personal carriers launching from the pirate ships, flying for the haulers to invade their interior and steal their cargo.

Skar watched the carnage with an internal grief though he didn't know any of the people being killed outside the ship. He witnessed them killing each other as if it meant nothing. He witnessed lives ending in a split second. Hopes and dreams, memories, ideas, thoughts, wishes and desires silenced with the pull of a trigger. Lives ended without purpose or reason, or even fulfillment.

They just died.

As if she knew what he was thinking Shinran leaned in close to Skar. Skar looked at her, knowing exactly what she felt and then looked back out the screen at the natural selection of who lived and who died. It then occurred to him what Kayupa had tried to tell him on Nar Shaddaa, that taking lives were an inevitable part of the life he'd chosen. He feared the day he would have to.

Master Bo-Hi looked up at Skar and Shinran with a knowing glance. "This is what's wrong with the Galaxy. We should be working as one. We would be stronger that way. Things were better back in the Old Republic. This behavior is spawned by the Empire. Things didn't used to be this way."

Skar nodded. "We should stand together against our common enemy."

Kayupa talked over his shoulder. "I don't think our Galaxy has one enemy that wants us all dead."

Skar smiled though he knew it wasn't of joy, but of irony. "No, our Galaxy doesn't. But others may."

Master Bo-Hi looked up at Skar and his face shrouded in doubt. "What are you talking about?"

Skar shook his head and waved the thought away. He had no reason to believe that his dream about the aliens and the stormtroopers had been real or that it would ever happen. It could have just as easily have been his unconscious fears that had made him dream it. Right now the Empire was alive and more than enough of a threat to him.

A crackle came over their comm and Skar heard the voice rasping with fear in the other end. "…unidentified ship…this is the captain of the cargo ship _Cornerstone_…please help us…we're delivering food supplies for the Rebels…they need the supplies…please help us…"

Skar saw Kayupa heating up the weapons systems, until Master Bo-Hi intervened.

"This is not our fight."

Kayupa swirled his chair, rage flaming in his eyes. "You can't just leave them! They're helping the Rebels."

Master Bo-Hi shook his head. "I have a bad feeling about this one, my student. We will stay clear."

"You're leaving them to die? We can help them!"

Master Bo-Hi didn't buckle. "We are but one ship. I want to help them too, but we would achieve nothing other than jeopardize ourselves. We can't win it. We will wait for our time to come."

Skar felt his insides tying up in a knot when Kayupa's face contorted into anger. "You…you coward! This is why the Empire will always win, because we don't act when we can."

"We don't have the necessary power."

Kayupa swirled his chair and powered down the weapons systems with a loud sigh. Skar reached out to Kayupa to read his emotions but instead he felt a wave of hate coming from the Jedi.

… _you stupid fool its all your fault I don't know could do something patience fear is my enemy I can't take this much more hate it…_

Skar shook his head. That voice? Kayupa's voice, inside his mind. It took seconds to understand that in touching Kayupa through the Force he'd not only felt his emotions but heard his thoughts. Though he wanted to pull out of it Kayupa's thoughts bombarded him.

…_they're all going to die must help the Rebels maybe they'll be alright I don't know why aren't we helping them Master Bo-Hi is a coward have to help them could have helped them if only we hadn't left the Jentarana…_

The shock from hearing that last word severed their connection and he staggered back, a feeling of betrayal clutching to his heart. And he knew, somehow he just knew, that he had found the source of Kayupa's turmoil. Dazed, Skar looked down at Master Bo-Hi only to find the Jedi Master staring back up at him, a worried look on his face.

"Skar…you'd better go back down into the quarters. We'll be entering hyperspace soon."

Skar was speechless. "I…he said…"

Kayupa swirled his chair to look at his Master and Skar, confusion painted all over his face. "What?"

Master Bo-Hi raised his voice. "Skar! Go back to the quarters now!"

Skar stared at Kayupa's face, clouded with lack of understanding. Then he turned and descended the stairs, leaving the cockpit behind him.

Shinran followed him and stepped in front of him. "What was that all about? What was that talk about other galaxies?"

Skar shook his head. "I got this…weird feeling from Kayupa. I heard his thoughts. But I don't understand them. He said something about something called Jentarana?"

By the look of her face, Skar knew it meant nothing to her. "Jentarana?"

He leaned against the nearest wall. "I think its what's bothering him. Something about this Jentarana."

"Master Bo-Hi must know something, since he ordered you out of there like that."

Skar felt terrible. Why were they keeping secrets from him? "I don't get it."

Shinran sighed and looked around the living quarters. "I'm on the wrong ship."

Skar looked at her and saw her frilled beauty. She looked so sad standing there, completely misplaced in her life, surrounded by people she didn't understand and bothers she couldn't handle.

Skar leaned away from the wall and held her shoulder. "Come, lets clean this place up. I'll talk to Master Bo-Hi about it later. They can't keep it secret from me anymore. And if they try I'll confront them."

She looked up into his eyes and smiled carefully. Then she leaned in close against him and her arms wrapped around his waist. Skar held her close and felt her warm and tender surface. Just as tender and fragile as her insides. Skar calmed himself in the Force and then channeled the sensation through Shinran.

When he tried to feel her emotions he received something that sounded like it sounded like a single raindrop dripping in a pool. It was her confidence buckling under the pressure in her life. It wasn't comforting to know her confidence was so weak, but it was no surprise to him. Her constant unrest within her spirit blocked her from ever reaching happiness.

Skar felt a cold shiver run through him and he decided then and there never to use the Force to read her feelings again. She wanted a hug, not an invasion of her feelings, and he felt he could provide just that. Though she got the most of it, they both shared the comfort in each other's warmth.

* * *

When the _Koniduz _finally entered hyperspace safely, leaving a group of Rebel Alliance traders behind to fight for themselves, Master Bo-Hi came down from the cockpit with Kayupa in his wake. Skar was waiting for them, positioned himself on top of a crate with Shinran leaning against it by his dangling feet. Kayupa and Master Bo-Hi both looked up to find him staring back at them. His heart was pounding so fast that he thought Master Bo-Hi and Kayupa might even have been able to hear it, especially in the eerie silence that took over the living quarters.

"We need to talk." Skar said, his firm voice piercing the silence.

Master Bo-Hi stood his ground, and though he showed no sign of weakness, he also appeared to be surprised with Skar's courage. After a moment of silent contemplation the Jedi Master spread out his hands. "I suppose this subject cannot be concealed anymore. Your growing in the Force has allowed you to know things we've been keeping from you for a very good reason - "

"I'm tired of people who think they have to keep things from me because I'm not ready." Skar looked over at Kayupa. "And you. You've been deep as a cave ever since we left Nar Shaddaa. And I want to know why. What's going on?"

Master Bo-Hi walked closer to Skar. "We will tell you, but you must calm down."

Skar reached inside and his heart resumed to its normal pace, his mood regained its center. Skar folded his hands on his knees. "Okay, tell me."

"It all has to do with a conversation between you and me, Skar. A conversation that never finished."

Skar was puzzled. "I don't -"

"Skind Kjoil."

The shock hit him like a punch in the face. "My uncle?"

Master Bo-Hi nodded. "I never told you how he died. Why your sister's training was never completed by him. How the Republic cast him away and treated him like an enemy." Master Bo-Hi tightened his voice. "Or _why _he died."

Skar remembered talking about Skind's tomb on Coruscant and later learning that there was no grave, but realized he had no idea how his uncle had met his end. Nor why he was never able to complete Sasa's training.

Master Bo-Hi reached out his hand. "Skar, give me the lightsaber. Your uncle's lightsaber."

Skar's hand reacted and unclipped the lightsaber. He palmed it and handed it to Master Bo-Hi.

"And the Holocron."

Without asking questions, but slowly feeling he was being robbed of Jedi material he had, he gave the Holocron to the Jedi Master. Master Bo-Hi put down both items on the crate next to Skar and then entered a Jedi trance. The items moved and floated into the air. The lightsaber orbited the Holocron like a satellite. Skar noticed small sensors moving on the surface of the Holocron that read of the surface of the lightsaber.

_Some kind of code?_

Both items landed on the crate again and nothing seemed changed. Skar looked to Master Bo-Hi for an answer. Whatever he'd done hadn't seemed to work.

"A trick I remembered. Its a code incrusted into the lightsaber that the Holocron reads so it can access hidden information. You'll find the contents of the Holocron…_updated_."

Skar felt like pure ice was running through his body. "You've known about it all this time and you didn't tell me?"

Master Bo-Hi held up a palm. "I'll leave you to study all the things you've wanted to know. All the unknown answers. And there are many." Master Bo-Hi bowed to Skar and left with Kayupa trailing behind him.

Not sure whether he'd gotten what he wanted from the two Jedi, Skar jumped down from the crate and replaced the lightsaber in his belt. The Holocron sat on the crate, almost as if it was staring back at him, challenging him to explore its content. Skar touched the Holocron and it lit up in its usual purple glow, but instead of the usual image of his mother lecturing on lightsaber techniques, a selection screen appeared with red letters over a black screen.

Several studying options were listed with everything from knowledge on the Galaxy to 'Jentarana specs.'

"Do you want me to leave?" Shinran asked.

Skar smiled but didn't look over at her. "No, stay. No more secrets. No more discretion."

* * *

The past occupant of the Holocron's instructions had been Skar's mother, but now instructions were done with voice-overs to images and pictures of the subject chosen. Skar didn't recognize the voice, but knew it to be human. It spoke in Basic. Skar and Shinran had huddled up on a crate and watched as the Holocron unfolded the history of the Force.

"In the beginning there was life, it was new and it quickly became more than just skin and bones. Unknown energy grew with life, by the beauty and ugliness of life, thriving, growing and evolving. As life blossomed and grew ever more sophisticated, so the energy grew, becoming more defined and distinct. With the growth of life there came the desire to seek knowledge, to learn and understand the origin and meaning of life."

Skar nodded to Shinran who had leaned up against him. "The Jedi were knowledge-seekers."

The Holocron reacted to his words. "Yes, but they were not the only beings who thirsted for knowledge. Life fell upon the more technological workings of the universe, and the energy in life was forgotten. Technology became the wonder of philosophers and the research of scientists. So the Galaxy stood, cruel, and heartless for time unknown," the voice became cold and sad, as if the memory brought pain to it. "Everyone forgot the energy, relying their strength on more useful technology. Instead of the unknown power that was inside the energy."

Skar strained his brows, trying to understand it all. "They forgot the Force? How could they? Weren't there any Jedi?"

Shinran moved tighter to him. "This was many thousands of years ago, Skar. Before the Republic. At the very beginning of time. The Jedi weren't around then, nobody really knew the Force was there."

The Holocron agreed. "Correct. No one knew the Force was there for them to use. Then came the Jedi, sentients, leaving technology for others, while seeking knowledge of the Force. The Jedi studied the Force, discovering its depths and secrets in an attempt to bridge the gap between nature and technology. They worked with the Republic as its guardians and the Galaxy entered a golden age of peace. The Jedi brought tranquillity and peace to the Galaxy, until they were betrayed."

Skar swallowed hard. "The Dark Side."

Again the Holocron agreed. "Not all who were in infancy of the Force were of pure intentions. The Force is neither good or evil, but can be made to serve both sides. Just as the Jedi began to heal the Galaxy's wounds after a thousand generations of neglect, they were destroyed. Just as the Jedi had studied the Force for good, others had studied the Force to serve their evil intentions. The Dark Side of the Force was far more seductive and quick to master. Soon the evil began hunting and killing the Jedi."

Shinran wrenched. "So that's how the Jedi Purge began. Greed."

The voice was silent for a while. "Yes. The Force is the essence of life itself. The Force is peace, harmony and knowledge and those who follow the light use it for these things. Those emotions which enhance its flow are patience, humility and self-sacrifice. The Dark Side, in contrast, is a twisted form, thriving on hate and destruction. Chaos and rage feed and nurture it. The Dark Side is a part of the natural balance of things; it is not inherently evil, but evil lurks in its irrationality, its intolerance, and its lack of control. Its disciples are blinded by greed and lust for power over those weaker than themselves."

Skar shook his head. He already knew that the Emperor had once been a Senator of a planet called Naboo and later had become Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. After the Clone Wars he announced himself as Emperor and the Empire was born. The Jedi were hunted and destroyed.

"Do you want more information on the origin of the Force?" The voice asked.

"No."

Skar grazed the subjects he had to choose from. Lightsaber training could wait, as could more information on the Force and its gifts. Skar knew he should study up on the Galaxy he lived in, his knowledge was limited, as was his knowledge about the Kjoil, except from what he knew from Master Bo-Hi, but the thought of hearing about Skind Kjoil had his interests peaking.

"Skind Kjoil, please."

The Holocron shifted its database and then bloomed into an image of a man unfolding in a green hologram.

"Skind Kjoil accessed."

In the center of the hologram stood his uncle, Kjoil Knight Skind Kjoil. His arms folded perfectly at his sides. Judging from his look Skar guessed Skind was in his mid-twenties, which would make him only a year or two Skar's senior. He had short-cropped black hair, spiked at the front, and yet that boyish haircut somehow managed to make him appear dignified. Skar could easily see why Skind had become such controversy; even at so young an age it was easy to spot the strength that glowed behind those eyes.

Skind wore a sly smile that made him look like a predator, like he was ready to pounce at any moment, a fact underscored by the constant awareness those sharp eyes exuded. As it had with his mother, Skar found it weird to watch data on his uncle when his uncle was no older than himself, and he could see some of her in him. Skar felt more like he was looking at an older brother. Skar also noticed the ceremonial red tattoos on his hands and palms, which matched those on the lightsaber which dangled from Skind's belt. Skar felt a tinge of shame, like he'd stolen something that would only ever look right on someone else.

Shinran's eyes squinted. "He looks like you."

"I guess," Skar frowned, finding it hard to see himself in that strong and wise man before him, "but maybe one day I'll look like _him_."

The Holocron shifted as it found the proper data. "This is a recording of a meeting between Skind Kjoil and the Jedi Council on Coruscant." The image shifted into a viewscreen which showed him a larger picture. The view was from the side of a room, a room he had never seen before.

It was the Jedi Council chamber. Removed from the surrounding sprawl, the Jedi Temple used to be the home of the Jedi Order on Coruscant. Within one of the outer spires convened the Jedi High Council, the governing body of the order. From its circular Council chamber, a ring of 12 Jedi held court, monitoring galactic events and contemplating the nature of the Force. It was the Council that held final authority on Jedi missions on behalf of the Republic, and on whether prospective candidates were worthy of training. Elsewhere in the temple, training facilities were staffed by revered Jedi Masters, who guided Padawans in their first steps toward Knighthood.

Skar spotted twelve Jedi Masters sitting in a circle of high chairs, all of different species and different persona, behind them the purple sky of Coruscant was filled with bustling ship-activity. Each Master looked to the center of the room where Skind Kjoil stood. It annoyed Skar that there was no info on the Jedi Masters' names.

Skar noticed a dark man, with a full grown beard, standing behind Skind Kjoil. His bald head reflected light from the setting sun outside the chamber's screens. The way he stood behind Skar and the way he carried himself reminded Skar of Master Bo-Hi. No sooner Skar understood that the man standing behind his uncle could only be Sdah Kiil-Da, Skind Kjoil's Master.

Sdah wore a completely black cloak with red symbols over the sleeves and chest. Master Sdah stood outside the circle, watching Skind as the apprentice addressed the Council. This would have to have been just shortly after Skind's rise to Knighthood, because Skind still had the haircut that the Apprentice would have during training, although his spikes were something Skar supposed Skind had chosen for himself.

Skind courted before the Jedi Council and Skar could see the pride in Master Sdah's eyes as Skind bowed before the Council.

One of the Jedi Masters, a dark man whose focused eyes sent shivers through Skar, nodded. "Stand, Skind."

Skind stood, showing a perfect example of posture in front of the Council. A second Jedi Master, a small green-skinned alien with large ears addressed Skind. "Much respect and honor follows the name of Kjoil. Earned you have, that respect." Skar tried to piece the bad grammar together in his head, so they made sense.

Skind smiled stronger, the pride not hidden from his face. "I hope to accomplish more." His uncle's voice sounded soft but determined. Strong, yet careful.

"Wow," Shinran said next to him.

"What?" Skar asked, unable to take his eyes off his uncle.

"He sounds just like you," she whispered.

Skar's heart sank. He found it hard to believe they would sound alike when Skind appeared to be a far more confident type. But in a way he found it flattering. Although he couldn't hear the resemblance he didn't mind knowing he sounded like that strong Jedi hovering in a hologram before him. A man who captivated every part of Skar's attention.

"Strong in you, the Force is. Deep commitment. Use your power wisely you must and pass on what you learn," the Jedi Master said, settling back into his chair.

Skind bowed again. "Thank you, Master."

"May the Force be with you." The dark Jedi Master said. Skind turned to Master Sdah and they left the chamber together. The movie ended and the hologram image of Skind Kjoil appeared again.

"Would you like to see it again?"

Skar sat wondering. Knowing about his family was something he had always wanted, but more questions than answers had come to light so far. Every time he learned about his family, something about the Jedi bothered him. It annoyed him he didn't know the names of all the Jedi Masters on the Council. But ultimately Skar cast the thought away and calmed his mind. _Answers will come. _

A part of the Jedi was not to worry about the future, but concentrate on the moment. That way you could create the future from the present, by making sure the elements of the future which you wanted to avoid, weren't born in the present. Concerning yourself about the future was futile, there was no way of preparing for such a thing. The only thing you could do is make sure the present is at harmony with the Force, that way the future will be too.

"Would you like to see it again?" The voice repeated.

All the information he gathered was filed in his sub-consciousness and treated as data. Every little detail was fitted into the gaps in his mind, and completed the story. He knew much about the events that had brought him to his fate as a Jedi and his life on Nar Shaddaa, as well as the fate of the Republic before his time. The Emperor's devastation and the evil of the Jedi Purge. All the information completed him and made him see his role more clearly.

He loathed the Empire, despised its very existence and the terror it had wrapped over the Galaxy like a veil of fear. His journey had just become much clearer.

_I'm a Jedi, and I am here to help stop the unjust. That is my purpose and my fate._

Shinran was sitting next to him and he noticed she'd been looking at him for some while now.

He blushed. "What?"

She smiled and balanced her head on his shoulder. "I don't know how to say this, but…I like sitting here with you. We're very much alike. We seek the same. Just as confused and eager to find purpose in it all. I feel at home right here." She looked up into his eyes and Skar lost himself in her green eyes. "You bring me comfort."

Skar smiled. "Well….thanks. I'm glad to know that."

She cowered closer to him and closed her eyes. "You're welcome. I thank you. You've made me feel less lost on this ship. And I'm happy you let me be part of this."

Skar watched her fall asleep on his shoulder and he leaned his head back against the crate.

_Wow. _

This was unexpected. For a reason Skar knew, but wished he didn't, he found himself looking around to check that Kayupa wasn't around. He remembered Kayupa having once said that the little things in life weren't worth in the long run, but sitting there, with Shinran hunched up beside him, smelling her hair, Skar was keen to disagree. The little things were by nature small things, but they were the things you always remembered.

A touch, a taste, the scent of the one you loved, to look into eyes that looked back at you with the same love in them. Something as small and free as a smile could end a lot of sorrow if employed at just the right time.

Skar laid his head down on top of hers and reveled in their closeness, and hoped that feeling would become one of those memories that would linger in the back of his mind forever.

* * *

"…any Jedi who is in control of the Force and is in full touch with it, can, when struck by a mortal blow, transfer his soul to the Force. Only if he is ready for the blow, expects it. If he accepts death, then his life energy will leave the physical world and become one with the Force..."

The words only registered partially and although Skar would have sworn he hadn't fallen asleep, anyone walking in would find him lying on his belly with his back to the playing hologram. Abruptly Skar woke and sat up. He shook his head, rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked around. He wasn't surprised, but somewhat disappointed to find that Shinran was gone.

Sitting up he yawned and spotted her sleeping in her own bunk.

"….the Jedi's soul is very special. Its connection with the Force grants it eternal life in the afterlife…."

Skar's mind only half picked up the words, stilling trying to wake up. He yawned again and wondered how long he had been sleeping. He picked on himself for doing so, since what he learned from the Holocron he'd had to pry out of Master Bo-Hi.

Nothing related to Skind's disavowment or his being outcast from the Jedi Order had so far been illustrated. Skar figured whatever it was could wait until morning, a dead man's past wasn't going to change over night. Tomorrow he could look at it with fresh eyes.

"Go to bed."

Skar looked up, slightly startled, to see Master Bo-Hi standing in the darkness to his left.

"Hey…I, ah - "

" - fell asleep?" The Jedi Master grinned. "You're not under any orders to see the whole thing in one night, Skar." Master Bo-Hi looked back at the Holocron's flickering hologram, still playing. His gaze was focused but there was something hiding behind it. Something very worried. "Afterlife. What a contrast in terms."

Skar read a sadness in Master Bo-Hi's voice. "You were watching? Why?" Skar asked, and wondered if the question was stupid.

The Jedi Master cocked his head slightly. "Maybe I'm looking for something too."

The Master's quizzical retort put him on guard. "I still don't have a clue about what you're trying to show me. The thing I asked for. The reason why Kayupa is tense. This 'Jentarana'."

Though his eyes never left the Holocron Skar could see that the mere mention of the word, or name, whatever it was, sent ivy up Master Bo-Hi's spine. "You will."

Skar jumped down from the crate. "What is it, why don't you just tell me?"

Master Bo-Hi's preoccupation slowly faded and he looked up and down Skar's frame. "Replenish yourself."

Skar closed his eyes and reached inside the Force for energy. It came so easily to him that he didn't even have to think about it. Like a surge of adrenaline, of power, all his bodily functions became as fresh as they'd ever been. He lost the slumber in his head and felt like he'd drunk ten cups of caf. The Force had healed his body and brought him to full strength. It was the same technique that Kayupa had used on him on Nar Shaddaa, and Skar found it a very useful asset, because he wanted to help people.

Skar reopened his eyes. "There."

Master Bo-Hi shook his head slowly in amazement. "The Kjoil…they truly were better than us."

"What?"

"You did not even have to think about it. It came on instinct. I must admit, the Kjoil have always fascinated me. They were…so strong. So vibrant."

"Even they must have flaws."

Master Bo-Hi pointed at the Holocron. "True. Speaking of which; you have not learned Skind's fate?"

Skar shook his head. "No."

"Then keep studying." Master Bo-Hi turned and started to fade away into the darkness. "If you keep searching you will find."

"Master?" Skar asked before the Jedi Master could fully disappear.

The Kel Dor stopped and slowly turned to face him, his metallic mask reflecting the green light from the Holocron. "Yes, Skar?" His voice was beaten.

Skar searched for words. "I…keep having these visions of the future. Are they true?"

Master Bo-Hi looked away, and his shoulders sank. After a few seconds of searching for an answer Master Bo-Hi rubbed his scarred cheek and walked further on into the darkness. "You are a servant of the Force, Skar. You are fated as well as you are the master of fate." Master Bo-Hi disappeared fully in the artificial night. "You decide whether they will be true."

* * *

Skar didn't sleep all night, with newfound energy he was busy researching the Galaxy and learning more about the Jedi. In fact he'd been able to piece some clues together. The small green alien in the Jedi Council had been called Yoda, and was revered as one of the greatest Jedi ever. Nine hundred years old, Yoda had trained Jedi for eight centuries, and was supposedly very powerful in the Force. In the days of the Republic, Yoda was a respected senior member of the Jedi Council.

The dark man had been Mace Windu and he was the head of the Jedi Council. A respected Jedi and the senior member of the Jedi High Council. His wisdom and experience was legendary, and his words carried great weight.

The other Jedi Masters had been identified too, only there was no important information about them. Skar took special note of one them, Plo Koon, a Kel Dor Jedi Master of the same species as Master Bo-Hi Dzog. Skar doubted there was any kinship between them though, but it crossed his mind that Master Bo-Hi must've known him and made a mental note to ask Master Bo-Hi about it.

As what passed as morning came to the ship, Skar decided that he was stuffed with enough knowledge for now and thrust himself head on in a new lightsaber training session. All the while in the back of his head he knew he lacked information about Skind Kjoil's fate and this Jentarana-thing, but decided he would study that later. Too much information was brewing in his mind and he felt like he suffered a hangover. It was all very confusing and he decided to distance himself.

The living quarters had once again been cleared to make space for the session. Funnily enough, at least to him, the session was not guided by Master Bo-Hi, but Shinran. She'd jumped at the chance to help him and acted as the session-instructor. Master Bo-Hi and Kayupa were busy in the cockpit, and though Skar suspected they were talking about him, he made nothing of it.

The hologram projector in the quarters had been centered in the room and Skar watched as ten identical featureless holograms came to life in front of him. They seemed real enough, except for the green glow and the flicking of a glitch in the hologram system.

Shinran looked at her handheld control-pad in her palms and read aloud; "These red lights on the projectors, um, they track your movement, as well as the movements of your opponents. Your opponents will shoot at you, and the sensors will tell you whether or not you're hit. Seems you can only get hit once, and if you're hit you start over. There will be ten opponents."

Skar's eyes darted to look at her. "You said 'shoot'? Will it hurt?"

Shinran tapped on the pad, bringing up more information. "You'll feel a slight sting, nothing more. Its only there to make you realize you've been hit. And the sting should inspire you to be more careful, if you want to avoid further shots."

He produced a brave smile somehow. "I guess I better be on guard."

She made the final preparations to the simulator, reading more information off the small screen. "You can disable your opponents by cutting through the holograms. And no matter where you're hit, its a loss. There is no room for error. Its perfect or failure."

Skar unclipped his lightsaber and walked into the center of the room. The red lights followed him, and he noticed small beams running over his body, tracking him, transmitting his position to the simulator and to the opponents' systems. Thanks to the beams, the enemy would always know where he was. The room was cast in a green glow as every detail in the room was memorized in the projector's memory. The simulator even added new elements to the quarters, rectangles the size of the already present crates created a complex maze of obstacles, but also served as cover.

Skar looked down at his lightsaber, the red symbols running along the handle, and noticed the two scars on his hands. The one on the left hand, running nicely around the thump, was from Lwen's funeral; his sign of leaving the past behind. The one on his right hand, in the center of the palm, a sign of his trust in the Force. Both combined was a symbol of how he was, how he acted, and what he had to do. One balanced the negativity or the positive of the other.

Balanced, as he should always be. _There is no emotion, there is peace. _

Skar signaled he was ready, but Shinran looked worried. "What am I forgetting to tell you? Gravity's normal….no, that's not it. I feel like I'm missing something."

Skar shrugged and his lightsaber beamed to life. "I'll learn the hard way. Any last advice?"

Shinran initiated the simulator-program and the ten humanoid-figures, built like normal men with no faces, faced Skar in a flash. Skar liked fighting against holograms rather than real people. Real people or Kayupa. He wasn't a killer, and this way he could achieve results and knowledge without bloodshed. However, as many times as he told himself so, he knew he was training to learn how to keep the bloodshed to a minimum, but nevertheless to shed blood.

"Don't try to impress anyone but yourself."

The simulation started and Skar jumped headfirst into the battle. Fake blasts of laser flashed around him as he dived closer to the enemies and attacked their weak spots. Skar landed in between two holograms, and dispatched them both with a long wide arc. The holograms shimmered as his blade drove through their artificial bodies. Then they vanished.

"Oh, I remember! The enemy has one weakness. They only have ten shots in their charges. After that they have to reload. That's their weakness!"

Skar smiled while dodging back and forth in between laser beams. As soon as he landed a new place, he was forced to leap again. The opponents ran back and forth, following his every move. Skar strained his mind to think of a tactic that would ensure victory, but no openings presented themselves.

Then his luck changed. The ten opponents stopped firing in unison, as they pulled out new charges.

Skar wasted no time. Two opponents on the other side of the room were still reaching for their charges. Skar leapt across the room, dodging shots from the opponents that were done reloading. As he reached the two, he fell to his knees and slid across the floor, swirling the lightsaber above his head, and sliced through the two with several cuts. His slide became a roll and, once safe, he remembered to breathe.

_Six to one. Better than before._

The six remaining opponents ganged up on him and fired as a group from the opposite side of the room. Skar dodged the shots that threatened him with ease, while ignoring the wide shots. Skar faced that he couldn't produce a head-on attack on them as one group, but if he could split them up he would have an advantage. Skar leaped even further back and ducked back into safety behind a crate.

There he bided his time.

The holograms came closer and evened out to both sides, three and three, to attack the crate from separate sides. They showed teamwork mentality and Skar was impressed about the intelligence in the simulation. The holograms even sent one forth as a scout to check for him, while the others waited behind with weapons ready.

They were almost on him now.

Skar jumped up and a barrage of laser fire killed the crate. Skar rolled as he came back down and ran left up behind the three unknowing holograms. The projector soon updated them with his position but by then it was too late. Skar let out a war-cry and his blade thrust through the first hologram. Its shape dissolved into millions of tiny stars.

A hologram on the opposite side of the room, in the second group of three, saw him and swirled its gun to meet him. Skar somersaulted left, ending up behind a third hologram where he let the lightsaber fly through the hologram, and onwards through the room and ultimately through the shooter.

Both vanished in a flicker of static energy but not before the blade returned to his hand like a loyal pet.

Skar caught an impression from Shinran who was admiring him from safety by the projector, as she rejoiced in his victory and found amusement in all his jumping around. Skar had no time to share the feeling as an onslaught of fake laser fire came his way. Acting on instinct, and a sense of hope, he held up his blade as safety and two shots pounded against its golden sheen and vanished in a flicker.

Skar shook his head in wonderment.

_I blocked the shots._

Skar remembered Master Bo-Hi saying it was possible to do so, but he hadn't thought about it. Infact he'd forgotten it. But still it had flowed to him, like nothing, so simple. So entrusted into his genes and his heritage that it felt natural to him to do it. It wasn't a thought, it was a simple reflex.

_My talent is growing very fast. Maybe too fast. Master Bo-Hi says its because of my bloodline. _

_The knowledge is already there, it just has to be awakened._

Skar advanced on the holograms and came into close quarters with the three of them as one. Skar rolled into their midst and fetched a low blow across of the legs of the nearest. Skar pivoted 180 degrees and his blade deflected a shot from burning through his face.

The hologram shooting was in the unfortunate situation that the shot had been its last, and had to reload. But instead of taking advantage of the weakness, Skar proceeded to the second hologram which must have been an advanced version of the others, since it had chosen to hide behind a crate. Skar wondered if the simulator was smart enough to learn from what it'd seen and then applied the strategy to its systems. Nevertheless Skar liked the challenge.

_There is always a way, just need to open my mind._

He dashed towards the crate while the hologram sent wild shots as it ducked up behind the crate. Halfway to the crate Skar changed his dash into a slide on the slippery surface of the floor, shots going over him. Eventually his feet slammed into the crate and Skar kicked out with all his strength. The crate, and the hologram, flew as if launched from a cannon.

Both slammed against the far wall, the crate shattering into millions of flickering lights while the hologram dropped to the floor, momentarily incapacitated.

The only other remaining hologram was finished reloading by that time and had drawn a bead on him. Acting instantly and with Jedi speed, Skar held his lightsaberhilt like a dagger and tossed it. The blade circled itself endlessly as it bore down on the hologram, cleaving him through the center. Skar's hand was still stretched from the toss and in mid-flight the lightsaber reversed direction and swirled right back to his palm.

The last hologram, the one he'd kicked to the wall, was back on his feet and unleashed a battery of laser fire at him. The shots were deflected easily, and Skar's hand moved the blade up and down, sideways, and even upside down to protect him. For many seconds he was satisfied with blocking the shots, amazed at his own accuracy.

As the last shot came, Skar circled around himself and his blade came up like a bat, directing the shot 180 degrees in the other direction, searing through the hologram and ending the session with a loud burst of sparkling energy.

Skar dropped to his knees and heaved for air, but the smile never faded. Shinran came running up to him, and the look of relishment on her face made him feel even better. She looked entranced by him, as if he'd just slain a dragon or something even more dangerous.

_I'm to her what Kayupa was to me when he revealed himself as a Jedi. A hero. _Skar enjoyed every moment of her enrapture in him.

"Time?"

She looked down at the pad. "6.54. Two minutes shy of Kayupa's best and….well….six and a half minute from beating Master Bo-Hi."

Even knowing that Skar still smiled. Because she wasn't impressed by them, she was impressed by him. Skar ran a sweaty hand through his hair. "I guess I need more practice."

She looked at him, chuckled and wrapped herself around him. "Are you kidding? You were great!"

Like nothing else in the world he wanted to fall apart and fall asleep right there on the floor, his entire body was aching, every muscle in his body screaming for rest. And even so, he still heard himself saying words his body never would've. "Wanna reset the simulator? I got to make a better score than that."

Her smile brightened again. "Of course." Skar could swear he saw her doing a little happy dance as she went back to the simulator and he caught himself staring a little too long at her as she moved her body by the simulator. Skar took pleasure in that little dance she made and was happy to know he was the cause behind it.

"Ready, master Jedi!" she shouted from the projector.

_I'm going at it again? I can't beat it again! Well, if I fail I'll just say something clever. Like, "I was distracted by your beauty…"_

The ten holograms were resurrected, and if Skar was a betting man even his own credits would have been on them.

_I'm so dead.

* * *

_

_You don't know the day, till the day ends. _

Lwen was always filled with philosophical quotes, some of them with less obvious truth than others . This one turned out to be true. The day after the hologram session Skar huddled up under his sheet when all the others were asleep and watched the Holocron unfold on a small stool next to his bunk.

He'd accessed the 'Jentarana'-file.

The holovid inside it was of a meeting in a place described as the Senate Chamber. It was a vast structure with literally hundreds of ambassadors from different worlds all there to safeguard their respective worlds.

As the holovid played, Skar watched as Skind Kjoil positioned his small hovering platform in the center of the room next to the Supreme Chancellor. Skar took special notice of the kind and respectable looking Chancellor, anger racing through his bowels.

If only they'd known back then.

This holovid was recorded a year after the holo of Skind in the Jedi Council. By now he was an ambassador for his home world Ka'ckak. Skind looked the same, though small fine lines had appeared beneath his eyes, which didn't seem all that joyous anymore.

Skind Kjoil's voice rang loud and strong over the enormous chamber. "I've come forth today to claim a debt. I myself have been subject to many situations where I've had to consider my place in the Republic. I'm Jedi, defender of faith and harbinger of justice to all of your worlds. I've helped each and every one of you in some way." Skind's eyes peered out over the masses and he raised his chin in pride. "Even you who have diverted yourselves from the Jedi, claiming them to be dangerous, must still know that we create results. I've shed much blood in my young years to ensure the future of your families. To ensure the future of _this _Republic."

Skind's persona was deeply admired by his nephew as he raised his voice like thunder over the senate chamber. "Now, its time to ensure the future safety of my _own_. The Kjoil have helped you greatly by becoming your servants, your protectors. We are your guardians, we are the reason you can sleep peacefully at night. We've set ourselves aside so that you can feel safe," Skind's voice raised to a menacing bass, "but not _anymore!_"

The Senate Chamber, although already quiet, sunk into such deep silence that for moments he could infact hear his uncle's breathing. It was so quiet Skar could even hear his own swallowing.

"My home world is under attack by our common enemies because they know we are a danger to them. Ka'ckak is left without a defense and we are vulnerable. Many decades ago the Kjoil gave themselves in your service to have your safety in return."

Skind's glaring gaze swept over the thousands, determined and confident. "We have received no support at all. Ka'ckak has been given technology to build cities that we don't need. All this was given in good faith, but it can never replace the feeling of insecurity. I've already spoken with the other four Epigones that are based on your worlds, and they all agree. These attacks on our home world must cease or the Kjoil will leave the Republic. We've shed our own blood as well as the blood of your enemies whenever you've asked for it. Now we demand justice. We demand what was promised us." Skind raised himself to full height and his voice carried over every soul watching him. "We want a defense system."

The dignified Chancellor stepped forward and spoke softly and warmly. "There is the chance we can assign battleships to your system, old friend," the use of the term 'friend' implied they'd known each other for some time. A fact that bothered Skar. The Chancellor held out his hands. "There is no need for threats of separatism, ambassador."

Skind looked at the old man in a look which made Skar relieved that he'd never had to receive any scolding from his legendary uncle. "I'm not looking for chances, Chancellor. I'm looking for results. And _threats _are something my people are facing at this very moment." Skind peered back at the masses. "And I know from experience that the moment the Republic met a threat, those battleships would be reassigned to meet that threat, and Ka'ckak would be vulnerable again. No, it simply won't do. Ka'ckak wants a solitude defense system, one made only to protect them." Skind's face contorted in disgust. "Something you will never touch."

Skar could see and hear the senators assembled muttering amongst themselves. Some of them outraged, others nodding in sympathy for Ka'ckak. A pair of clapping hands could be heard amongst them and suddenly more clapping followed. People cheered and stood on their feet to praise Skind.

Applauds came like a tidal wave. In the end everyone was cheering for Skind and Skar could see the satisfaction on his uncle's face.

The Chancellor stepped forward. The supreme ruler of the Republic nodded slowly to the senators, hoping for them to calm down, then he looked at Skind, and Skar thought he spotted a brief look of resentment in the man's eyes. "I believe no voting is necessary, ambassador. While our funds may be a bit lacking as of now I will do whatever I can to see that your wish will be met."

Skind Kjoil bowed to the Supreme Chancellor and then bowed to the senators. Then he turned to the Chancellor and spoke softly. "See that it does."

The holovid ended and Skar was engulfed in the black night of the living quarters. He laid there in awe and respect for his family and his heritage, realizing the immense footsteps he had to walk in. His family had all been strong, respected, revered, seen as people who knew what they were doing. His mother had been firm and direct, able to think for the future even in her own doom.

Skind had the persona of an ambassador, he knew how to get results, very shrewd and clever. A tactician, a cunning warrior. A politician even, with all the bad things that implied.

Skar reached for the Holocron in darkness and his fumbled fingers accessed more data on the subject 'Jentarana' which Skar still didn't know what was. The second holo was again of the Senate. Skind stood before the muttering masses, looking very content and pleased with himself.

The mutterings silenced as Skind's voice echoed over the airways. "My project is finished and is being transported to Ka'ckak at this very moment. For all of you who hoped to see a presentation of it, and even a rundown of its power, I must disappoint you." Skind looked down at his feet as if he'd made a huge mistake. "I'm not proud of it, I hate war as do all my people. Even they are shamed of its existence yet they hope to see it as a sign of hope in the coming years. I've never been a warrior, only a protector, just like the Jedi. And that is what the project stands for. Peace through deterrence."

Skind leaned forward and increased the bass in his voice. "Those of you who wish to test its capabilities or hope to someday have it in your army can squash such thoughts right now. The only chance you'll ever have of seeing it unleash its force, will be if you attack it." Skind leaned back and smiled to all of the senators. "I pray you don't. As a safety measure to ensure this weapon's stance of peace, only I can operate it, and it responds only to me. That was what the project was always designed for. To only serve the people of Ka'ckak."

A look of deep insight came over Skind and he gave a faint smile. "In human and other races there is a wish to name your firstborn. I will never be a father yet I extend my feelings for this project enough that I have given it a name I would have chosen for my firstborn."

Skar sat upright in his bed and felt his heart pounding. He already knew the name before his uncle aired the word. And when his uncle finally did say it, Skar said it like an echo that came twenty years later.

"Jentarana."

The holo ended but no sooner did a image of the Jentarana appear. Skar felt cold and his body began to tremble as he witnessed his uncle's creation. Specs and intimate details about the Jentarana scrolled down the side of the holo while hundreds of cameras showed the Jentarana from every angle possible. Skar read the details and memorized them to the fullest extent of his memory. The Jentarana was equipped with the latest, back then, state of the art in defenses -

Skar reached for his lightsaber as he heard footsteps coming towards his bunk. He couldn't see the person in the glow of the hologram so he reached out with the Force.

"Kayupa?"

The Jedi Knight stepped out of the darkness and hunched down next to Skar's bunk. He looked tired, stress hovered in his squinting eyes. "So now you know."

Skar looked back at the hologram, feeling glaciers avalanching through his mind. "With this…we could turn the tide. We could win the war!"

Kayupa shushed him and seated himself on the bunk. "Be quiet. You'll wake the others."

Skar turned to him. "My uncle made this to only work on Ka'ckak. What was it doing on Nar Shaddaa?"

Kayupa glanced at the hologram and sighed. "When the Purge began, Ka'ckak was obliterated. All the Kjoil died. Your mother knew the secret to the Jentarana and she moved it, and trusted it to someone she knew she could trust."

Skar felt his heart tighten. "Lwen? Lwen knew about this?"

Kayupa shook his head. "No. Master Bo-Hi. Remember, he knew your mother as well."

He felt his hands tighten, amazed at how little he really knew about what he'd gotten involved in. "So Lwen got me, and Master Bo-Hi got the Jentarana. How did she know he could pull it off?"

Kayupa rubbed his eyes. "He…knew about the Purge. Long before any of the others. He could get it to safety without anyone knowing where he would stash it."

Skar looked over at the Jentarana, the ultimate weapon, the tool that might bring hope to the Galaxy again. "We need this, Kayupa. With it we could - "

Kayupa shushed him again. "I know, I know. We could have saved the Rebels back there."

Skar looked at Kayupa. "This is the reason you've been so quiet lately. You knew what we'd left behind."

Kayupa's face drained of blood, and it seemed to take all his strength to finally nod and admit to his inner conflict.

Relieved to finally have that out in the open, he found there was still much that worried him. Skar looked back at the Jentarana. "What was it doing on Nar Shaddaa?"

Kayupa sighed. "Me and Master Bo-Hi were refueling on Corellia when mercenaries ambushed us. They didn't even know what they were stealing. I got a good look at it on Nar Shaddaa, they haven't breached the outer hull. Master Bo-Hi decided it was safe as long as they remained clueless on how to open it."

Skar nodded. "That's why you came to Nar Shaddaa. You were hunting the Rancor League. You were hunting the Jentarana."

Kayupa made a faint smile. "And fate brought us to you, the only Kjoil remaining, and the nephew of the Jentarana's designer." Kayupa scratched his beard. "The Force works in mysterious ways."

Skar pieced another puzzle together in his head. "Master Bo-Hi said something about needing me, and he wasn't talking about being a Jedi, he was talking about something else."

Kayupa made a sharp nod. "The Jentarana is inside a dropship, it can't fly in space, it only works in-atmosphere. But Skind Kjoil was the only one who knew the secret to making it work."

Skar's heart filled with light when he finally understood a big piece of the puzzle. "Master Bo-Hi thinks I can get him that secret so we can use it against the Empire." Skar's glee was short-lived. "But I don't know squat about the Jentarana."

Kayupa padded Skar's knee and rose from the bunk. "I'm going back to bed. Shut the Holocron off before you wake anymore up." Kayupa started fading into the darkness.

"Kayupa, wait! What does this have to do with Skind's disavowment?"

Kayupa kept walking. "Keep studying."

* * *

When Kayupa slipped under his sheet, he reached out to Skar with the Force and was reassured that the young Jedi had turned off the Holocron. Kayupa didn't feel right about the whole situation but knew that there was no other way.

_Master, he knows about Jentarana and about the secret._

His Master's thoughts streamed through him. _Does he know about Skind?_

Kayupa closed his eyes, only to find an even thicker darkness inside his own mind. _No, Master.

* * *

_

Skar spent the night tossing and turning in his bed, unable to retrieve the knowledge from his brain that was keeping him up. When morning finally did come it came much too soon and Skar realized he hadn't slept all night. There was an urge in him to keep studying but he knew he had to restrict himself or his mind would burst. He already felt like he knew more than he wanted to know. He wished he could somehow process the knowledge through its usual channels and then just dispense with it like everything else he learned.

But the Jentarana kept resurfacing, the implications surrounding it forcing him to constantly treat it with the proper attention.

It bothered him that he didn't know for sure what Master Bo-Hi intended to use the weapon for. The Jedi had already safeguarded it for many years, he could have hidden it somewhere and left it removed from the world forever. But he hadn't, he'd kept it close. He meant to use it. Its original design was based on planetary protection, not for attack. If Master Bo-Hi had plans about using it against the Empire, it could certainly put a dent in their plans.

But that all revolved around an attack, and Jedi did not attack. Even if he decided to turn it over to the Rebellion, the change in hands meant nothing. It would still be tempting the Dark Side. And Skar believed Master Bo-Hi could not have overseen that fact. Whatever it was him and Kayupa had in mind for the weapon it could not be done without a sacrifice of some magnificence.

Skar scratched his stubble, which was becoming a beard, in frustration and prayed for the sweet relief of ignorance.

That morning they all joined at breakfast. The usual dreadful porridge was served to no one's delight and Skar almost bailed out of the meal. He would have if it hadn't meant he would be the only one not present then. He was tired of shifting between enemies every week and found it therapeutic for all of them to eat together.

Master Bo-Hi, the only one not eating, seated to Skar's right, was involved in a deep conversation with Shinran across of him. Skar exchanged small talk with Kayupa across the table about his training but kept an ear close to what Master Bo-Hi was saying on the other side of the table.

Shinran's spoon played with her food. "So, what kind of planet is Nanh, anyway?" she asked. "A pleasant one, I hope."

Master Bo-Hi nodded. "Yes. It is where I trained Kayupa and where we have lived for a long time. Very warm near its equator, which is where we're going to be staying."

"Any cities?"

"None by Nar Shaddaa standards, I'm afraid. The people there aren't particularly advanced, they live in small tribes. They are a simple people. Nomads. Our home is near the peak of one of the highest mountains. From there you have a great view of sunsets and sunrises."

"I love sunsets," she stated with a smile, "well, the ones I've seen in holos anyway."

Master Bo-Hi smiled gently as well, which Skar believed to be connected to the memory of Nanh. "There is an ocean, where you can watch the sunset in even more beauty as it sets. The sky…turns purple and yellow, a truly wondrous sight."

Skar could see Shinran was already filling with excitement. "What about the people? Are there any problems with them?"

Skar could sense something in Kayupa tightening. One of his eyebrows lifted.

Master Bo-Hi went on. "No, they are a peaceful people. But we should stay clear of them as much as possible. They are a private people."

Shinran lifted her spoon. "How did you find this planet?"

The Master leaned forward, his optimistic smile dying within seconds. "I had a vision of the future."

Shinran's jaw stopped chewing instantly when she heard the dread in his voice. Skar turned his attention over to the Jedi Master fully. Not even Kayupa could keep a straight face, though Skar suspected he must have heard the story he was about to hear before.

"The Emperor worked fast, but I saw his rise coming. I saw to it that someone would be able to restore the Jedi Order if anything happened. I took it upon myself to find somewhere the Jedi could survive even from the Empire's mercenaries. I told no one about my vision, not even my apprentices. I disappeared in the Unknown Regions for years and when the Sith returned it only strengthened my fear to act quickly. Shortly after the Battle of Naboo, I vanished. Left no traces other than a warning in the Force." Master Bo-Hi's eyes wandered across the room. "What I knew, I could not share. Not without putting everyone in more jeopardy. If the Emperor knew that I knew, I would have been the first to be killed."

Many things became apparent to Skar in that moment. For one thing he understood the muted sadness the Jedi Master sometimes exhibited, something that felt and looked like disappointment. He understood the seriousness the Master enforced about his training and about Skar's progress. And he could not help but believe that this was the source of all Master Bo-Hi's plans. What he'd explained seemed dishonorable, one might even reason to call it cowardice, it sounded farfetched that there was no other way to help the Jedi.

Maybe Master Bo-Hi had come to think so too over the years, and Skar now understood that the Jedi Master's mission was one of redemption. Not just the return of the Jedi, but to prove to himself that what he had done was right, and that his efforts had not been in vain.

Master Bo-Hi had fought the shame in himself ever since, and Skar gathered that such an effort would strain his reasoning, perhaps even cloud his judgement. Maybe the Jedi Master was ready to sacrifice himself, to use the Jentarana as a weapon and finally restore his pride. Skar shuddered at the thought, but realized a couple of things. Finding a solution to the Jentarana situation could not happen fast enough, and either Master Bo-Hi had great foresight or he was a very good liar.

Shinran had stopped eating. "I'm sorry."

"No, its alright. I do not mind talking about it. I collected as much of Jedi knowledge and artifacts I could, so that I could train any other potentials that I'd might hope to find. When the Jedi Purge began, I knew I had done the right thing. Seeing my vision come alive around me."

Skar began to wonder where the hand-over of the Jentarana fitted into this story. Was he lying or just not saying? Either way he wasn't telling the whole truth. The hand-over of the Jentarana had to have come after his seclusion, so at some point he had to have come back to get it. His mother must have contacted him somehow and told him. But would his mother know where he was? He'd just said that no one knew where he went.

Skar felt mistrust bubbling inside him. And in the one person he would never have suspected.

"Did you find any students?"

Master Bo-Hi looked at his hands. "When I came here to Nanh, the people were tribes of primal humanoids who spoke very little. They called themselves monks. I felt they, like much of Nanh, had a close infancy with the Force so I taught them Basic, and they taught it on to the others. I taught them about the Force, hoping that they would be future Jedi. Hoping to find a strong connection in them. I found one, and I taught him as my apprentice. But the tribesmen already had a faith, a religion. They worship a native animal called a vhronik."

Kayupa flinched opposite of Skar, the sight made a shiver run down Skar's spine. Something about the vhronik obviously worried Kayupa.

"The vhronik is used as a manhood-test. They send their Initiatives into a vhronik cave and if he comes out alive again, he is elected as a Priest, as they call it. When learning about the vhronik I found that they had a very strong connection to the Force, which the Jedi serve. I told them that those who were able to survive a visit to the caves, where actually those who were strongest with the Force. The vhronik doesn't hurt you if you have Jedi potential."

Skar decided to involve himself in the discussion. "What happened to your apprentice?"

Master Bo-Hi didn't move. "He entered the vhronik cave and died."

"But I thought you said he was connected to the Force."

Master Bo-Hi explained. "Everyone is connected to the Force. But my student was too eager. He didn't understand the dangers of challenging the Force. A Jedi doesn't go looking for challenges or trying to prove himself. A Jedi must be at peace within to have the strongest connection to the Force." Master Bo-Hi's eyes glanced at Kayupa for a brief moment. "If you don't serve the Force as it is meant to be served, by following the light, you die." Master Bo-Hi's fleeting eyes were brimming with sadness. "My student failed to see his own failure."

_Like the loss of a son_, Skar imagined. Skar found himself in a stalemate. He didn't know whether to feel sorry for Master Bo-Hi or not. Kayupa's dancing and nervous eyes told Skar there was more to the story than Master Bo-Hi was letting out. _Master Bo-Hi is becoming an enigma._

"It must have been hard to lose someone like that," Shinran said softly, pushing gently at the borders of Master Bo-Hi's sadness.

"Losing that one student was tough, as I expected. But losing all the monks because of the single incident was heartbreaking."

Skar looked at the Master. "They blamed you?"

"They had a right to, but it doesn't make it any easier knowing that. The monks banished me from their temples. Those monks cherish Perfection, which is what they call their touch with the Force. A religion birthed from the vhronik ritual into a larger understanding of that ritual." The Jedi Master looked at Shinran. "Whatever you do, don't use the word 'Force' around them. Its an insult."

Shinran made a cheerful smile. "So in a way you gave them faith? Do they hold a grudge to you?"

Master Bo-Hi shook his head and a brief smile emerged once again. "No, not anymore, thankfully. They've come to forgive me and they tell me about their thoughts on the Perfection and life. You would enjoy meeting them. They have great insight."

Shinran shrugged. "Everything's worth a shot. Sounds like I'm gonna enjoy this Nanh."

* * *

Skar retreated from the discussion at breakfast and secluded himself in the cockpit. Stars flashed by outside the canopy too fast for his eyes to follow as he settled down in the captain's chair. Skar positioned his Holocron on the controls and lit it up with a heavy sigh.

"I want to know more about Skind Kjoil."

Again the hologram flickered and shifted as it found the proper data. "Son of Pfan Kjoil and Messi Kjoil, Skind was born on Ka'ckak. When the Gathering occurred his father pronounced Skind as one of the Five Epigones to venture back to Coruscant with the Jedi Council. Skind was tutored by the Jedi Master Sdah Kiil-Da and trained for many years before achieving the level of Jedi Knight."

Skar tapped his finger on the armrest, unrest and slight anger filling his heart. "But Skind was not fully trained by the time of the Gathering, right?" he asked, the irritation poorly hidden from his voice. "He wasn't born with the Force like the true Kjoil."

"Correct. He only became a Knight under the tutorage of Sdah Kiil-Da."

Skar didn't look at the hologram as it played, but kept his eyes on the stars outside. He realized his irritation was more than just feeling betrayed and lied to by everyone around him. The ship was getting to him, he had been cooped up for too long in too little space.

Claustrophobia was starting to affect him and he wondered for how long he would have to travel before breathing fresh air again. Before he could find a private moment for himself and a proper bed. "What was the reason for Sdah Kiil-Da being his Master? Did Sdah choose Skind as his apprentice?"

The hologram flickered. "That information is not available. Sdah Kiil-Da was a Master of the Rhujilan kind - "

Skar's eyes darted to the hologram. "Wait! Back up. Not available? What does that mean?"

The hologram took its time searching its files for clarification. "The details surrounding Sdah Kiil-Da's choice or selection of Skind Kjoil as a Jedi apprentice are not included in this Holocron. Suggest that you try to find the information elsewhere."

Skar sighed, though he already knew that Master Sdah had not chosen Skind as an apprentice. Skind was assigned to Sdah Kiil-Da as an experiment. To make an incredible Jedi. He was just tired of things being held back from him that he wasn't going to take anything for granted.

"Continue."

The hologram complied. "Sdah Kiil-Da was a Master of the Rhujilan kind, an order within the Jedi praised for its difficult training procedures. Skind Kjoil overcame the training without complications. The first to be trained by Sdah Kiil-Da without suffering incident." The hologram shifted again. "Upon completing his training, Skind was assigned momentarily as an ambassador to the Jedi Academy, where he recruited three Jedi students for tutorage. They were; Ryjkuuijuh, from Coruscant. Selia Iver, a Corellian. And Koll Riokon, another Corellian."

That name stirred forgotten thoughts and neglected emotions. He swallowed. "Koll Riokon was my father."

The hologram made the equivalent of a nod. "Koll Riokon was selected as Skind Kjoil's apprentice, while Ryjkuuijuh was assigned to another Master. Selia Iver was not assigned to any Jedi Master."

Skar felt something pulling at the Force, like a nudge on his shoulder. Something that told him there were elements beneath the surface that pulled on greater strings. Tearing at its fabric like a hook. And it had something to do with that last name. "Selia Iver. Tell me more about her."

The hologram quickly found the relevant data. "She choose to refrain from her Jedi heritage and became a civilian."

The sensation grew much stronger and Skar began to feel the cold hand of dread take hold of his guts. He was almost afraid to ask. "What happened to her?"

The hologram informed. "Selia Iver chose not to be a Jedi, because she lacked confidence in her own abilities. Skind Kjoil tried to help her regain strength but his efforts were fruitless. She refused to train. In time she became vulnerable to the Dark Side. Noticed only by a Sith Lord by the name of Darth Sidious. He corrupted her and turned her against the Jedi."

Skar sank back in his seat, baffled. A cold trembling of fear moving over his body. Even the word 'Sith' made him cautious. An order of Force adepts devoted to the Dark Side and determined to destroy the Jedi. Before the battle of Naboo the Sith were long thought extinct, however the mortal enemies of the Jedi and the ones responsible for the current state of the Galaxy had returned in force. The incarnation of the Sith was the result of one rogue Jedi.

Two thousand years ago, this Jedi had come to the understanding that the true power of the Force lay not through passivity. It was believed that only by tapping its Dark Side could its true potential be gained. The Jedi Council at the time balked at this new direction. The Dark Jedi was outcast, but he eventually gained followers to his new order. Awakening beliefs from the dark past, the Sith cult continued to grow. Growing ultimately towards it own end.

With the promise of new powers by tapping into the hateful energies, suspicions rose amongst the Sith's own ranks. Greed spread like a disease between these agents of evil, eating away at their loyalty. It was only a matter of time before the order self-destructed. They were the worshippers of the Dark Side, the dark and perverted side of the Force. They were the exact opposites of the Jedi, and they strove for the exact opposite. Anger, fear and hate were the callings of the Dark Side and the Sith followed these emotions. They courted evil while struggling to destroy everything the Jedi stood for.

One Sith survived. Darth Bane rebuilt the cult, so that there could only be two; a master, and an apprentice. Bane adopted stealth as the fundament of the Sith order. A shadowy master like Darth Sidious was able to keep his presence a secret, even when sharing a world with the Jedi. With the death of Darth Maul at Naboo, the Jedi Council realized that the Sith menace was true. Years would pass before the Sith menace arose once more, a menace that would eventually come to engulf the entire Galaxy. This time in the shape of Darth Tyranus.

"Darth Sidious," Skar said the name with the greatest caution, afraid to awaken sleeping spirits. "Was he ever found?"

The hologram shifted once again, and maybe it was just him but he thought the hologram sounded almost mournful. "To this day no one knows who he actually was, but there is reason to believe he was masterminding the turn of the Republic through Chancellor Palpatine. After the Empire came to life, Sidious was never heard from again."

Skar found those words reassuring. "What happened to Selia?"

"She was taught and trained by another Sith called Darth Tyranus on a planet known as Geonosis. After her training was completed she returned with a vengeance to Coruscant where she confronted Master Sdah Kiil-Da claiming him and Skind were the cause of her turn to the Dark Side."

Skar was about to ask a question when the hologram began to playing a holovid. Through first-person he saw the view of a camera hovering over a rainy mountain top on Coruscant. Skar recognized Skind's Master Sdah Kiil-Da meditating at the edge of the mountain peak, he could also spot city-lights far below the mountain. He deducted that the camera must have been a surveillance-device, used to monitor people who walked in areas of Coruscant where citizens normally didn't tread.

The camera panned around to hover directly over Master Sdah Kiil-Da, zooming in on his closed eyes and peaceful face. Meditation had been passed through generations forever, but Skar couldn't help but feel that Master Sdah looked the spitting image of what Master Bo-Hi looked like when he was meditating.

Beginning to wonder why he was watching what was clearly a private moment for Master Sdah, Skar soon got his answer.

Behind the Master a woman in a dark cloak came running up artificial steps on the slope of the mountain. She reached the top and stood there a few seconds, breathing hard, while the rain washed down between and around the two warriors. Skar saw lightning strike down hard not far from the mountain peak, adding its own sense of danger to the scenario.

On cue Master Sdah Kiil-Da rose and slowly turned to Selia, his cloak soaked and his face dripping with rain. Skar hadn't seen it there before, but the Master's purple lightsaber had already come to life and was humming in his hand. Selia in turn drew her red lightsaber. The camera circled around them a couple of times, clearly distressed by the sight of two people getting ready to attack each other. Skar noticed data running down the left side of the holovid. No doubt the camera was, or had been, reporting this felony to the proper authorities.

The camera changed angle to zoom up on Selia's face. While it carried all the marks of hatred and disgust at the Jedi Master, Skar could still spot an inherent beauty in her. She was young and had dark red hair, and her face was smooth, skin like silk, with two piercing blue eyes. Her lips peeled back in a snarl and she held up her blade pointed at Sdah.

No sooner chaos ensued, and history was made. Skar watched as the Sith and the Jedi Master engaged in gruesome combat, each of them masters in their own field, and both strong in their separate powers.

She came forward in a leaping overhead chop, Sdah batted her blade aside with his, lightsabers cracking and casting sparks over both of them. She recovered from her attack and thrust her blade forth, attempting to skewer him with the tip of her blade. Sdah pivoted to his left, the blade stabbing through thin air behind his back and faced her again.

She danced around him, her blade always moving within her circles of attack and occasionally scoring a hit, but not one that Sdah couldn't counteract or parry.

She was good, but not the best. What made her exceptional was the way she had no difficulty in using her aggressive emotions to fight, very un-Jedi like. She thought with the ferocity of a Kjoil, matching not only in force but also speed. Selia slashed down hard on his left flank, forcing him to dive sideways, letting her fall with the cut, landing on her belly behind him.

Selia brushed herself off as she came back up, slowly, well aware that he hadn't finished her when he could. "Full of pride, aren't you?"

"Not enough to give to you."

Her red blade came alive like a serpent striking from out of nowhere, instantly forcing him to fall into his defensive pattern. Her moves were tight and close but none of them were good enough. Sdah felt it was all too easy, a training droid would have given him more of a challenge.

Selia snarled as she tore away from him. "Curse you!"

Sdah swirled his lightsaber. "Getting tired?"

Selia blew away a strand of sweaty hair from her face. "I'm just getting started."

Sdah nodded, waving her forward. "Let me know when the pain gets too much."

A second hadn't passed since he'd said those words until he regretted them. They were like a switch inside her that opened a floodgate to all the anger, all the pain, all the anguish she had been carrying inside. And in that moment Sdah felt the unmistakable presence of the Dark Side surrounding her, blazing inside her feeding off her hatred.

"Pain?" she growled.

Although she hadn't moved an inch Sdah brought his blade up in a guard, the best he knew. Something bad was about to happen.

"What do you know about _pain_!"

She came at him strong, fuelling all that rage into her attacks. Sdah started to walk backwards as she struck, trying his best to put as much distance between her and him as possible. But she wouldn't let up. Her blade struck at his feet, scorching the ground as he jumped above it, leaving a terrible scar on the mountain.

Sdah allowed the Force to flow through him, more than he had done before, calling on its every resource now that he needed it. Selia's moves were highly improved by her attachment to the Dark Side, her attacks and cuts precise and professional.

Through the Dark Side she had just skipped what a normal apprentice would spend years learning.

And as they fought at the top of the mountain, Selia's face was flaring with her anger, her eyes like lightning as their blades clashed again and again. Sdah doubted his own abilities to stop her, but not because she was invincible. Because instead of fearing her, he felt sympathy. He wanted to help her through this, wanted to be alive long enough for her to see the stupidity of her actions, wanted to be the catalyst for her redemption.

Selia's sword sparked against his, creating the illusion of lightning of striking down between them, the energy humming through their hands and arms as they battled each other. If anyone was going to take her down, it would have to be him. Sdah felt that if he kept himself alive long enough, if he stuck to blocking, sooner or later she would come to her senses and disengage.

He felt her strengthening with each second her anger was allowed free reign, feeling her quicken inside. Her blade swirling and dancing around them endlessly, clashing against his sometimes more than once per second. Her steps quicker and quicker with every moment, her strength increasing forever as her pain grew with each lunge and each attack.

Master Sdah's skills as a swordsman did not lay dormant as he struggled for his life in a harrowing duel with a former ally and trustee. Selia's whips and slashes began to change form, turning almost clumsy, but they proved chaotic enough that Master Sdah didn't know how to counteract. It was easy to spot a pattern in an opponent, but when even the opponent didn't know what they were gonna do, the chance of victory relied more heavily on staying on your toes.

Selia's brute nature came to an end as Master Sdah felt a surging gap inside her whirlpool. Lunging forward, ducking beneath her spin, Sdah planted a boot on her stomach and kicked her away.

Skar thought he heard a rip break before Selia screamed in agony, using the pain to center her thoughts and fuel her drive. Wiping rain from her face, she came back up, mumbling Dark Side chants as she rose. Skar couldn't hear she was saying, but realized that was probably a good thing.

"Come on, old man," she mocked as Master Sdah began to tremble, his feet unsure and his grip on the lightsaber faltering.

Before him, Skar saw a Jedi Master begin to wilt like a dying flower. Master Sdah looked very disorientated, and eventually his knees buckled and he fell to the ground. Skar had learned that the presence of the Dark Side could easily weaken a Jedi, making him vulnerable.

A look of clouded defeat was on Sdah's face as he looked up at the chanting Selia, but somehow he found the strength to overcome it, though he was still shaking by the time he was standing again.

He raised his purple lightsaber in a last feeble attempt to defend himself. Selia stopped chanting and lifted her lightsaber in a high guard. Then she charged forward like a war-horse and the lightsabers met in brilliance, sparkling against each other. Selia's mind worked quickly and she leaned her blade down taking his with it and then performed a roundhouse kick that sent her muddy boot into the back of his neck. Master Sdah found himself on the muddy ground once again, this time with Selia walking around him with her lightsaber glaring in hand.

"The truth hurts, doesn't it?" her voice felt like razors to his ears. "I've seen the future. Skind's future. What he will do." A dark smile spread across Selia's face. "What he will become."

Master Sdah's face corroded in anguish. "No!"

Selia laughed. "You don't believe me?"

Master Sdah rolled to a stand and his blade thrust against hers and he served strike after strike as he pushed her closer to the edge of the cliff, hoping to kick her off the mountain for good. But Selia seemed to predict this, when her foot suddenly met no purchase.

Skar could clearly hear the pain in Master Sdah's voice.

"I…_can't _kill you - "

Living up to her legacy as a cunning Sith, Selia used the momentum to her advantage as she bent down in her knees, spun 360 degrees, knocking Master Sdah's feet away beneath him with a boot. Before he'd even fallen on his back, she came up and out of the spin with her lightsaber slicing straight up through his midsection as he was falling. The blade moved through his body, like a warm knife through butter. The Jedi Master began to fade, his body dissolving quicker than the eye could follow. He vanished, becoming one with the Force before his body even touched the ground.

All that remained was his soaked cloak and his lightsaber lying in a rain puddle. Skar watched as Selia picked up the purple lightsaber and fled the scene.

Shaking off the horrific images of what he had just seen, Skar found new questions bubbling inside him. What was the reason that Master Sdah couldn't kill Selia? It was the way of the Force to defeat evil and the Sith were the enemies of the Republic. And what was Selia talking about Skind becoming something else?

Skar shook it off and the Holocron awaited command. "What happened after this? Tell me about what happened after Master Sdah's death."

The hologram accessed the data. "Skind went to face Selia on a planet called Kryuu, with Koll alongside as his apprentice. They defeated the evil in Selia but Koll lost his hand saving Skind's life. Selia saw the wrong of her way and returned to the light but died when she tried to overcome her Master, Darth Tyranus."

Skar nodded. Happy ending after all. "So everything turned out great? But why couldn't Master Sdah kill Selia? What was he talking about when he said - ?"

The hologram interrupted him. "'Great is not an accurate description of the situation. Skind was suffering for a long time afterwards and the Jedi Council disavowed him."

Skar sat forward, his heart suddenly pounding. "Why?"

The hologram shifted to find the data and even those two seconds it took felt like hours to him. "Because when he saved Selia from the Dark Side, he had to use the Dark Side himself."

Skar's heart was about to leap out of his throat. What? That didn't sound like him. "But why would he do that ?"

The hologram shifted. "Selia Iver was Skind Kjoil's lover."

* * *

Skar found himself pulled back in the captain's seat. His fingernails had dug themselves into the leathery armrest, his hands lost their circulation and gone pale, shaking in their clutch. Cold sweat was running down his brows, his eyes closed tightly. He felt like he'd just jumped from a cliff and all the way down he'd seen faces and images of people and things that hadn't belonged in his memory. He knew things that he hadn't experienced. And he feared things that could never hurt him. He wanted to talk, he wanted to ask a million questions in one sentence. But nothing came out. His mouth stood open, but breath was all that went past his lips.

Behind him he heard faint footsteps, which quickly turned into running, and then he heard the boots as they skidded to a halt next to him. The gray blur of a person hunched down next to him, and slapped him hard in the face.

It was all it took to pull Skar out of his coma and returned him to his own world, slowly though. His head came up and around to the person who'd slapped him. "Kayupa."

There was a look of genuine worry on the proud Jedi's face. "You okay?

Skar shook his head, trying to rid himself of that uncomfortable feeling, but it didn't work. "Far from it. Just been for a walk down memory lane."

Kayupa helped Skar regain his strength, both physically and mentally. Using the technique that Skar had learned for himself, but was now too weak to administer. He surged the Force through Skar's mind and helped construct the pieces of information in order so Skar could think clearly again.

With a surgeon's precision Kayupa collected the puzzle, and Skar felt himself coming back together. Before thoughts had just been stuck in his head, and he'd been unable to analyze them, like a bad dream they just pounded and kept coming back to haunt him. It felt like a banging headache, and Kayupa had hurried to put Skar on the floor and then worked his magic on him.

Skar felt the healing powers of the Force flowing through him with the gentle flow of water. Forcing himself to do so, Skar quieted his breathing, calming himself down. "Thanks, Kayupa."

Kayupa nodded in reply. "I'm just glad I was nearby."

"So am I, believe me. I've understood why Master Bo-Hi kept it from me," Skar admitted, "I wasn't ready to learn this."

Kayupa looked puzzled, then his face dimmed as he wizened up. With a sour look on his face he hung his head down at the floor. "You studied about Skind Kjoil?"

Skar could only nod.

Kayupa kept his eyes on the metal flooring. "You know, he's still your family no matter what he did. Everyone gets tempted by the Dark Side every once in a while. But Skind was already a shattered man when that happened. He'd suffered even before Selia died."

Skar shrugged. "Guess he did. He lost his Master."

Kayupa nodded. "Right. It was a hard time for him."

Skar didn't care, he didn't think it qualified as an excuse for what he'd done, for how he'd let Skar down. The anger brought out of his disappointment made him snap. "He did more than be tempted by the Dark Side, didn't he? They wouldn't have disavowed him if he'd just felt tempted. He went to the Dark Side, didn't he?"

Kayupa chose to look away.

"Was this before or after he built the Jentarana?"

"After," Kayupa muttered.

Skar looked down at the small Holocron on the controls, such a small device that was supposed to be a source of help, but instead it had only provided confusion and anger. Anger that was still coursing through his veins and shattered everything he had come to take for granted. Everything he thought was true.

Skind Kjoil was supposed to be the greatest Jedi ever, and Skar had hoped to step into those footprints and continue his family's path. But now that path seemed to be filled with warnings for him to turn back, his legacy slowly feeling more like a sham. Skar pounded his fist into the armrest and cursed aloud. His illusion about his uncle had been broken. Skind had not been all he'd thought he'd been. He'd been weak. Not the perfect image of a Kjoil that Skar had envisioned.

Kayupa looked back at him, a question-mark in his eyes. "Did you study it all? Did you hear about…?" Kayupa stopped talking, regretting his words instantly.

Skar's eyes shot to look at Kayupa. "There's more?"

Kayupa nodded.

"What more? He became a Dark Jedi trying to save the woman he loved and they disavowed him? What more could he do?"

Kayupa bit his lip and his head bowed down to the floor. "Skar … Dark Jedi doesn't exactly cover it."

Skar lifted his eyebrows, feeling another impending shock on its way. "What?"

Instead of answering Kayupa turned to the Holocron and said, "access the holovid of Skind Kjoil making a transmission to the Jedi Council."

The Holocron complied. "Skind Kjoil."

At first sight Skar didn't recognize him. His uncle looked like a shadow of the great warrior and servant of the Force that Skar had seen in the first holos, the way he saw him in his mind. Skind had grown a full beard and although it made him seem older and wiser, the unruly state of it showed a Skind who clearly didn't care much about appearances anymore.

His long hair was tussled and unmade. Skar gathered that Skind had neglected personal hygiene completely, when he noticed the yellow teeth that dominated his smile and the sooty texture of his skin. His cloak was different, black as night. Skar tried to read his uncle's eyes but saw only fatigue and evil where he had before seen familiarity and kindness.

A hollow shell of the man that was once seen as the greatest Jedi of all time. The Jedi Council looked as worried as Skar to see the holo-reflection of one of their former loyal agents, as Skar allowed the holo to play.

The dominant Skind raised his chin and smiled demonically to his former Council. "By now you must all know what I have done, and where I'm going. I'll even bet I have some of you quite worried. It's alright. You _should _be worried. But not by me. I am not doing this to destroy any of you. I'm doing it to rebuild something I lost a long time ago. I did not choose the ways of the Sith to destroy the Republic. I have no hate for the Republic."

Skar felt his heart bleeding. _I did not choose the way of the Sith._ His entire image of the past was finally and sadly torn apart, scattered at the wind, leaving only a feeling of shame in his chest. _He became a Sith Lord. That's what Kayupa meant._

Mace Windu folded his fingers in front of him and looked at Skind with a wary expression. "The Sith _are _and always will be an enemy to the Republic, Skind. That makes you our enemy."

Skind shook his head lightly. He almost seemed amused. "Hardly. I promise you I will never set foot on Coruscant again. I will not hunt or kill Jedi. I will not hate you. But I _will _hate," he said, his voice full of detest towards everything, "the life that took Selia from me."

Mace Windu's tone was full of control, seeing through Skind's weaknesses and finding a perch where he could deliver the words Skind needed to hear. "The past cannot be changed."

Skind looked at the dark man with contempt. "It can't? What if I told you I found a way?"

Again Mace Windu objected, desperately trying to break through to some reason in the corrupted Kjoil Knight. "Skind, not even the Force, nor the Dark Side, can turn back time. You have to accept what happened and move on."

Skind looked sad, yet determined. "I'm not trying to bring her back. I'm going to _join _her."

Skar felt and saw the reaction on the faces of everyone on the Jedi Council. Utter confusion as well as dread and fear washed like a tidal wave of every Jedi present. Even his own.

A fiendish grin spread across Skind's face, his eyes alive with sick hope. "By becoming a Sith, I will have access to its afterlife, where Selia awaits me, when I die."

Mace Windu seemed to understand, yet in his eyes still lingered some confusion. "You're turning to the Dark Side so that you can be with Selia when you _die_?"

Skind nodded. "I know. It sounds ludicrous. It still is hard for me to comprehend, but nevertheless I know it can be done. The Sith have shown me that it can."

Mace Windu frowned. "Skind, this…is _madness_."

Skind shook his head again, as if it all made perfect sense to him. "No. Its my choice. Its the way I want things to be."

Mace Windu sat forward on his chair, a brow raised. "Then you will follow your father's path and bring the same smear to your name that he did."

Skar's heart missed a beat. _His father's path? _

But his thoughts were interrupted when he saw Skind's face contort in anger, his eyes positively alive with hatred. "_Silence!_" Skind shouted, his voice amplified, a wave of fear moving through each of the Jedi Masters, even the stronger ones. "My father is no more! And my mother is dead as well, killed by a disease she had been hiding for long." Skind frowned to himself. "My father said it was her heart, but I know it was _disgrace _that killed her. The disgust of knowing what her husband, my father, really was. A Sith."

Skar couldn't believe what he was hearing. Not only his uncle had been a Sith, but his uncle's father as well.

Mace Windu showed some empathy. "How did your father die, Skind?"

Skind's cackle slowly filled the room. "Let's just say I did what you would have wanted me to do, had I still been a Jedi. I defeated the darkness within him."

Along the whole discussion Skar had noticed how the Jedi Master Yoda had watched the event without saying anything. He listened and understood. He didn't speak his mind until the time came where no one would say the words he felt must be said. That time had come.

"With the darkness inside _you_?"

Skind bowed his head to his Master, it seemed Skind still held some respect for the Jedi Master Yoda, though Skar didn't know anything about what bond they held. "Master, what matters is that he no longer breathes."

Mace Windu leaned forward, elbows on kneecaps, palms on his brows, his eyes closed and stretched out to the Force for aid in helping Skind back to the light. "Skind, your name, the Kjoil, holds so much respect and weight among the Jedi. Your name is the pinnacle of strength and discipline. The Kjoil are perhaps the most powerful Jedi there ever were. The Kjoil race wields the Force with an ability we will never have. You are our strongest ally;" he looked up with a plea in his eyes, "don't become our worst _enemy_."

Skind shun the remark away with a frown. "As I have already stated, I am not an enemy. You need not fear me. And my name was tainted ever since my father neglected it. The Kjoil are in shame. And we cannot be redeemed."

"You're _becoming _your father," Mace Windu pleaded.

Skind smiled again, though it was a smile of sympathy at how poorly the Jedi tried to manipulate his thoughts. How amateur-like they tried to play with his mind. "Don't test me and don't insult me. My father and I were two very different people."

The Jedi Council looked to each other for comfort, but it seemed they were all at a loss. Nothing they had said had helped Skind see sense. Skar felt an glowing intimate pride in seeing his uncle defy the Jedi. He had tried to choose his own path and work on his own to obtain his goal.

Like a bitter aftertaste Skar felt embarrasment in that pride. What his uncle was doing was in fact ludicrous and was not of the Jedi. It was…wrong.

Skind looked to Yoda and Skar saw the love in his uncle's eyes. And he heard the hate had disappeared from his voice when he addressed Yoda. "You still have one Kjoil among you whose honor is intact. Tell my sister that I will meet her on Kryuu. There will I reach my final destiny."

Mace Windu's eyes snapped open. "You must understand that we will try to stop you."

Skind nodded. "As I said I am no enemy. But I will not bow down, and I will not give up. Nothing will stand in my way of being with the one I love. You will not get in my way, and if you do - " The hologram inside the Jedi Council began to fade, shimmering and fluttering, before fading into a final burst of Skind's red tattooed finger pointing at the Jedi Council. " - then I hope the Republic can do with out the Jedi Council."

The cockpit remained silent as that last hologram flickered out and Skar sat next to Kayupa, disgust crawling under his skin.

Kayupa was the first to sigh. "Well, now you know. How does it feel?"

Skar drew in a breath, ready to snarl and curse the world to hell. "Well, where do I begin? I find out that the famous and glorious family of Jedi that I came from, were actually Sith and they probably helped bring down what I'm trying to save. My uncle created a weapon of destruction -"

"Defense, Skar."

"- Alright, _defense_," Skar said with great sarcasm, his anger building with each second. "That weapon is now somehow in the hands of mercenaries, and I'm somehow the key to making it work. And my uncle also decided to take a huge career change when he became a Sith Lord because of a _woman_!"

Skar's rage fed through him subconsciously, building up a wall of defense around him. Kayupa was pushed back by it, hitting his head on the wall in the small cockpit and releasing a yelp of pain followed by some serious cursing.

Skar reached for Kayupa to help him.

Kayupa pushed him back. "Don't touch me!"

"I'm sorry!"

Kayupa raised himself off the floor, holding a hand caked with blood to the back of his head. "Shut up! Damn it, this is just what I needed." Kayupa started walking out of the cockpit.

Skar got up and followed Kayupa wanting to help, but Kayupa wouldn't have it. He held out his palm to prevent Skar from reaching him.

"I don't understand…what happened?"

Kayupa looked at him and his lips peeled back. "Its called the Dark Side, Skar!"

"But I didn't…?"

"Maybe now you'll learn not to judge so quickly. Your uncle did what he did for something he believed in, and you despised him. Look at yourself, you just threw me across the room. Because you couldn't control _yourself_!" Kayupa ached in pain and supported himself against the wall. "Maybe now you'll see how easy it is to turn to the darkness."

Skar held out his hands but the effort was useless. "It was a mistake - "

"Shut up! At least Skind could stand by his actions." Kayupa regarded him coldly and raised a finger and stabbed it into Skar's chest, his voice filled with an anger Skar had never thought to hear aimed at him. "And just to let you know, from the very first time I heard the story of the great Skind Kjoil, who turned to the Dark Side because he was in love, I _admired _him. I agreed with him! There are things that matter more than the Force, even for a Jedi! Even this useless crusade you've joined."

Skar began to feel less pity for Kayupa. "You - "

But Kayupa was already going and Skar was alone.

Behind him the Holocron was still humming. "Do you wish to see the final recording of Skind Kjoil?"

Skar sighed in defeat. "Will there by any more shocking news?"

"No."

Somehow Skar didn't trust the Holocron to be determine what accounted as shocking. "Right, then play," he said, his hands in the air.

This time there was no image, just an audio recording of a transmission from Skind Kjoil. When Skind first spoke, addressing himself, his voice was sad, sobbing. There was a great background of static, crackles and bursts of electricity.

Skar sat down against the wall, hands covering his eyes, and listened to the transmission his uncle had made mere hours before his death.

"My home…was the subject of war. The Jedi fought against the evil as soldiers and tried effortlessly to preserve the peace of our world, with their own blood. I, on the other hand, was attached to a special unit. The project was for me to build a new kind of defense for my home planet. A weapon that would signify peace rather than death. I was involved with the design and helped build it. I felt that the only way I could keep the weapon from falling into and being employed by enemy hands was to give it _emotions_, so that it would separate wrong from right. If the enemy should take possession of it, the weapon would not be used against the Republic forces. And it would never attack in evil."

Skar began crying, his uncle's soft sad voice poked at feelings inside him Skar didn't know he had. This was his uncle and he was saying goodbye to the world. Off to be with the woman he loved in the ultimate death wish.

"I was to select someone from which the weapon's mind, programmed into a Holocron, would be molded after. In a moment of pure self-confidence I chose myself as the subject. I didn't know if I could trust anyone else, but I knew I could trust myself. I made a Holocron and taught it everything I knew and in the end I allowed part of my mind, personality and emotion to be the structure of the weapon's mind. The goal was an honest one; prevent evil and bring peace back to the homes of my race and family. I never saw then how it could come back to haunt me but it did. I've only just now, at the moment of my destiny, realized that the weapon does have one weakness, or more correctly put, _I _have a weakness."

Skar thought of Kayupa too and began crying heavier. What was he doing? What heritage had the gods bestowed upon him? It wasn't glorious, it was a curse.

_I'm wrong for this._

"At the time I designed and constructed the Jentarana, I was in love and that will no doubt lead to my demise soon." Skind's voice buckled under the emotional duress. Skind Kjoil, the Galaxy's greatest warrior, an inspiration to many, was crying. "But that's not important now, I send this for those who will live on, my sister, Koll and the rest of the Galaxy. If the weapon is convinced in some way that the woman I loved was nearby, it would do anything to reach her. It doesn't know, like I do, that she is dead. I never thought to update the memory of the weapon." Silence built over the surrounding static for a few seconds. "Well, night is almost upon me. I can see the moon from here. Death smiles at me. Soon my sister will come to visit me. I wish you well, sister. My spirit will always live on in you and Koll," Skind let out his breath, the relief in his voice clearly audible," "and in your son."

Skar made a silent smile to himself. His uncle had indeed been powerful. At the moment he'd sent this Sasa probably didn't even know herself that she was carrying a child.

"I love you..."

* * *

When he was done collecting his thoughts around this new information, Skar took quiet steps as he went down to the living quarters. Kayupa had gone to bed and had a bandage around his head. Skar felt sorry for him and ashamed by himself. He'd lost control so easily and over what? Over something that happened many years ago. Something unchangeable. He realized he still had a lot to learn about controlling his emotions. He just wished he could have found out another way. It wasn't Kayupa's fault, he wasn't to blame and shouldn't have suffered for it.

Much to his surprise he found Shinran was still awake, sitting at their table, staring at a small datapad. She looked busy and very consumed by what she was doing, so Skar didn't want to disturb her. Nevertheless he didn't want to be alone now. He had felt Shinran's presence now and it pulled him to her.

He decided to see what she was up to. But the moment he started walking towards her, he wished he hadn't. He felt like he was violating her space, that he was intruding in what was clearly a getaway for her. But as he was about to turn away, leaving her to herself, he saw her smile.

"Stay."

Skar turned back to her. "You don't want to be alone? I don't want to disturb you."

She pulled a strand of blond hair away from her face, smiling invitingly. "You're not disturbing me."

Skar held out his hands. "So you don't want to be alone?"

Leaning back with her arms crossed over her chest, Shinran smiled at what was clearly a private joke to her. "I've been alone all my life, Skar. Grace my existence with a few minutes of your time and company."

Skar smiled, which came off as hard. "Might as well, I won't be sleeping for some time."

"More bad news?"

Skar sat down across from her and nodded.

She put away her datapad. "Starting to have second thoughts?"

His head came up to look at her but then looked towards Kayupa in his bunk. He shook his head slowly. "No. I've come too far."

She leaned forward. "Maybe too far."

"This isn't a race," he replied seriously.

"You sure?" she asked kindly. "Seems to me you're running as fast as you can to get to the finish line, you just forgot that others were running behind you."

Skar wanted to object to her point of view, but found he couldn't. "Its only in the last couple of days that I even knew they were there," he scratched his chin, feeling the hairs there scratch against his nails. "Sometimes I'm not sure I'm running in the right direction. I can't even see the finish line." He realized that maybe a part of him was having second thoughts about his future. He had doubts that he would be able to make up for the tragedies in his family, or that he wouldn't someday fall for the same traps. The same weakness. "Maybe its time for a timeout."

She chuckled suddenly and held her hand to cover her mouth so she wouldn't laugh anymore. He looked over at her, finding it strange but also endearing she was able to laugh in the middle of his distress.

"What? What did I say?"

She hugged herself and smiled at him warmly. "I just realized that if you ever decide to quit the Jedi business, you could write a book on analogies. You have a knack for it."

He softened inside and then chuckled. "Hey, you got me started."

She pointed a finger at him. "Verbal contract right there. That means royalties go to me, buster."

"So that's your game?" he grinned. "Set a guy up and then clean him out?"

She shrugged lightly. "I picked a lot of pockets while living on the streets. Its in my instincts to go for the quick credit."

"Well, don't worry," he said, continuing the joke, "if I ever write a book I'll be sure to include you in the credit."

"If you don't, I'll have to sue."

He raised an eyebrow. "Got a lawyer already, do you?"

"You bet."

Skar sighed. "I think I'll stick to the Jedi business."

They both laughed and Skar's heart warmed to see her so relaxed for a change. It did wonders for her. Although he had promised himself not to invade her emotions, her joy could not be missed.

"Thanks," she said and smiled. "Its been a long time since I've laughed so honestly."

Skar cocked a smile. "Well if my purpose here in life is to make people laugh, so be it."

She caught the double sense in that and frowned. "Somehow I don't see your purpose in life being a comedian."

He scoffed. _My purpose in life? Can't we choose an easier subject? _Skar pretended to be insulted. "What? I'm not funny?"

The conversation took a more serious turn as Shinran combed her hair back from her face with her fingers. "I've never heard of a Jedi comedian."

Skar snorted. "Well, I'm not a Jedi yet."

"No, not yet. But you will be."

Skar looked around the room, and then looked at the pad she had been busy staring at. He could see an image on the screen. "What's that?"

She looked up at him, a keen interest in her eye. "A picture. A painting. Bo-Hi told me I might like it."

"What does it mean?"

"Mean?"

"Yeah," he said, "isn't art supposed to mean things?"

"Art's subjective," she handed the pad over to him, "so I guess it would be better to ask what does it mean to you?"

Skar looked it over, it was a crude painting, with not much in explanation. At first Skar felt nothing when seeing the painting, possible a work of art in some parts of the Galaxy but to him it was just an image on a screen.

Skar felt he owed it a second look. "Don't you think the artist that drew it, had some purpose in making it?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Maybe the artist made a work that had no meaning, only so people could stare at it, pondering at its purpose, and find their own personal sense of its purpose," she hugged herself and had a cute smile on her lips, "just like life."

Skar's head came up and felt utterly blank.

Shinran snickered at his expression. "We don't know the meaning of life, or why it was created, but that only makes us work harder at trying to grasp its point. We study, we read, we learn, and we suffer, analyzing everything, desperately clinging to our wish to find what we are supposed to do with our lives and our time. This image that Bo-Hi gave me to look at, seems to have the same purpose. Only the artist who made it knew its meaning, and he never revealed it."

Skar tilted his head, giving the image another look. "In comparison, then only the creator of life would know its purpose."

Shinran nodded. "And the purpose was never revealed and we will never know."

"You said that the ones who stared at the work for a long time, would find their own personal idea of its purpose. Maybe life is that way too. That's what Kayupa told me once. We find its purpose, but it doesn't have to be the same of everybody else's." Skar slid the pad across the table to her.

Shinran ran her fingers over the image, her eyes crossed him in a shy but interested gaze. "So you don't think either that life has one all-empowering purpose? One for us all."

Skar watched her fingers move, finding small enjoyment in looking the twitches and knowing he was making her nervous, but not in a bad sense. Like him she was experiencing the kind of subtle edginess that came with talking to someone you fancied, the small flutter of the heart. Skar shook his head. He hadn't been aware he felt that way until now, he had felt tremors inside in the past when she was near, but he hadn't actually acknowledged it as infatuation.

"I don't have the answer. But I know that my path in life is gonna be much different from others."

She blinked. "I don't think that two people can have the exact same purpose in life, either."

Skar felt like she was baiting him. "That doesn't mean two people can't work together to find their separate goals. Maybe one person's destiny cannot be reached if he or she doesn't cooperate with the right person?"

Shinran looked at the image again, purposely avoiding meeting his eyes. "So one person's purpose in life could be dependant on another?"

Skar nodded again, secure in his belief.

"So two people can be each other's destiny?" Shinran's eyes glanced at him but only briefly. He noticed the slight blush of her cheek. "Are we talking about love now?"

Skar was taken back by her words, stunned by her cut to the core. His own cheeks started to feel warm and he stuttered when he remembered how to talk. "N-no, I'm saying…I guess…that some people are meant to work together as a team to function. Like the Jedi. Maybe one person's faults are weighed by the other's qualities. People working together, imperfect as one, but great as a team."

Skar could see by Shinran's impressed look that he had surprised her.

Skar went on. "Like the Jedi, we need to stand together as one unit guided by the Force. We can't survive on our own, we need teachers and guides. The Force could be that other person that makes us, despite our flaws, perfect."

Shinran's joy diminished and she found some of her sadness again. And he realized he'd been a fool. Those weren't the words she had been hoping for. He wished he could take it back and say something to move on the feeling that caused the tension between them. Although the tension was delightful in its own, the thrill of chasing, parts of him really wanted to move forward and find out where this thing between them was going.

Skar smiled inwardly as he found he hadn't thought about Skind or Kayupa since he'd started talking to her and he loved that about her. She could always take his mind off whatever was bothering him and make him see a better world.

She was that better world.

Shinran stared at the image. "I don't think…I'll ever become happy. I have too much doubt concerning the outside world to ever find peace. I think too much, analyze too much, can't seem to just stand still and observe. I never relax and take pleasure in what is close. I don't know what could ever make me searched for several heartbeats for words that would spring hope to her heart. "I think you will someday."

Her green eyes flashed that certain unexplainable look that always made his heart flutter. "Thank you, Skar. I enjoyed our talk. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Shinran left him sitting at the table.

The pad still laid at his fingers. He slowly shook his head, not knowing if he had helped. He only hoped he didn't make things worse for her. He palmed the pad again; the work of art without meaning, but still made sense through personal comparison.

_It has only the sense that you give it from your own point of view. Shinran doesn't even have a point of view. She has so many things that need to be dealt with but she can't make the first step to figure out how to work through them. _

He couldn't help but scowl at the image in simple irritation. "Why is no one on my side?" he asked no one, before heading off to bed himself.

* * *


	3. A New Home And Dividing Paths

The next day brought welcome change. After a month's travel through space using unregistered space lanes, the _Koniduz _made its triumphant return to Nanh. In the darkness of the living quarters, Skar and Shinran were both sleeping safely in their bunks, but their sleep came to an abrupt halt when they heard the ship whine as it came out of hyperspace.

Their eyes met across the room and saw the realization in each other's eyes. Without saying a word they threw away their sheets and ran for the cockpit. Skar found Master Bo-Hi in the navigator's chair, there was a sense of victory coming from the old Jedi Master. Completion and relief. Skar guessed that Master Bo-Hi somewhere had longed as much as him to reach Nanh, to be back on solid ground, to be home.

Kayupa was piloting the ship through the stars. From him Skar read only worry as the Jedi pushed controls and flicked switches. Skar glanced to Shinran and they smiled in unison when they looked out the screen.

Nanh.

The planet loomed close to the screen, filling most of its view and Skar saw the sun shining brightly behind it, just over the ridge. Nanh eclipsed the sun like a giant blue, green, brown and white orb. Skar watched the snowy white blur of vast polar icecaps on the north and south of the planet. He could spot many continents and small island groups dumped in the blue and white water of the planet's seas.

Moving toward the equator from the caps further into the planet came lush green landscapes of forests and plant life. Nature seemed to have the upper hand here, not technology.

_Not like Nar Shaddaa_, Skar noted.

As the _Koniduz _came closer to the equator Skar saw brown and gray areas that he knew was acrid desert country. Weird shapes and edges revealed themselves later to be mountain ranges and canyons. The continent of the planet they were heading for had a canyon that stretched all the way from the east to the west of the continent.

"Its called the Canyon of Strength. Probably because it has been around for so long. It goes for miles and miles into the planet's crust," Master Bo-Hi informed.

The ship broke through atmosphere and, after a few minutes of rioting tremors, rocketed fluidly through the white clouds like a comet, and then headed east, out towards the sea. Skar remembered Master Bo-Hi saying their home was close to the sea.

Skar turned to Shinran and they hugged each other, both of them filled with joy. "Home, sweet home." Shinran whispered into his ear.

Skar smiled. "Far from spaceship, smelly spaceship."

Master Bo-Hi nodded to them both. "You'd better get your things packed. We've got some hiking to do over barren landscape before we reach the compound."

Skar and Shinran wasted no time. Rushing back to the living quarters they crammed all they owned into satchels, and wasted no time talking about their excitement. Skar filled his satchel and clipped his lightsaber to his belt, afterwards he tied Kayupa's bandana around his forehead and sat down on the floor by the ramp-lift.

Shinran joined him shortly and they sat staring at the ramp, as if staring at it would make it open faster.

They were shook out of their places when the ship touched ground hard and Skar felt even more exhilarated now. He didn't know exactly why he felt so giddy, he would have thought it was just the relief in knowing he was finally getting off the ship but his feelings told him differently. It was the thought of seeing his new home that drove him to such exhilaration, and to some degree the fascination of seeing a new world as well. All of it very exciting.

Master Bo-Hi and Kayupa, still with the bandage on his head, came down from the cockpit and searched the living quarters for their items. Meanwhile Skar and Shinran glared at them like children waiting for their parents to let them on a ride in an amusement park. Skar knew he was being impatient and to some degree very childish but Shinran's happiness was infectious.

Master Bo-Hi and Kayupa came up to them, dressed in their heavy cloaks and carrying large packs on their backs.

Kayupa walked over to the ramp-control and punched the switch. "Here goes."

The ramp lowered slowly, way too slowly for Skar. Shinran's and his hand found each other without looking and squeezed tightly.

Bright shining light shone through the crack and continued to intensify as the gap grew larger. Skar and Shinran took in every ray of light, bathing in its brilliance. The ramp finally hit ground and Skar, followed by Shinran, jumped to his feet and ran down the ramp, only pleased when his boots hit sand.

Skar threw himself on the ground and rolled around in the sand, instantly noticing how hot it was, throwing it and kicking it like it were waves of water. He held up handfuls, watching as it poured through his fingers and flew away on a gentle breeze. For a few moments he felt like a young boy again, innocent and playful, and it felt great. No outside obligations, no orders or instructions, no expectations he had to live up; nothing. Just pure innocence.

Wanting to share his feelings but not sure how Skar looked to Shinran, to find a smile on her lips as she toyed with the sand as well. Seeing her so happy made him feel warm and brilliant inside. And Skar read the feelings in her as easy as reading her smile. The feeling of safety. He knew that much of his own happiness was actually sprung from hers, for she truly carried more than him. The clouds that frequently hovered over her soul seemed to have drifted and a joy-filled little girl remained. Skar felt good for her. No one could have deserved it more.

His euphoria dying, Skar turned to the Force once again, using its eyes to take in the world, showing it in a much clearer light. The portion of Nanh they were in was definitely a desert realm, but he knew too little about living in a desert to know whether it was a good thing or not. He guessed the heat might become a problem, but on Nar Shaddaa he'd had to deal with muggers and the occasional assault so he figured he could live with sweating occasionally. The sand dunes stretched into infinity, but he spotted valleys running across the land to the east.

Minutes passed as Master Bo-Hi informed more details about the planet for them to remember and told them about the dangers and the creatures that lurked in the deserts. Paying attention with only one ear, Skar started to wish he hadn't rolled in the sand. His pockets, shirt and boots were filled with sand and it seemed no matter how much he padded himself it would never completely fade.

A wide smile on his lips, despite the dry heat and sweat running down his back, he looked at the sun, staring back at him like it was talking to him.

He began to wonder how far from Nar Shaddaa he actually was, but knew it was far enough. And so was the life he'd had so far. The boy had grown into a man. That life was far gone and a new one stood in the door. Time was done for being alone and solitary, now he was part of a group. A group of friends and people feeling the same pride and responsibility as him. Except for Shinran, they were Jedi. Guardians of justice and harbingers of hope.

Master Bo-Hi made sure he had Skar's attention by lifting a handful of sand with the Force, making a small ball of it and tossing it at Skar. Skar took no offense, padding the new sand off with a smile on his face. He was too happy to feel any resentment, and the Master had meant well.

"Any questions?"

Skar nodded. "How far yet?"

"We'll have to split up here," Bo-Hi turned to the others. "Skar and I will go to the temple. Kayupa and Shinran, you two go the monks and get some supplies."

Her smile diminished. "I go with Kayupa?"

Skar looked over to see Kayupa looking at Shinran and giving her a smug smile. A moment of jealousy erupted inside of him, but he decided to quench it. He felt he knew where Shinran was, and Kayupa was hardly in the charming and seductive mode at this time.

Shortly after Skar watched them trod off over the dunes, yet he and Master Bo-Hi hadn't budged. Master Bo-Hi crouched down on the ramp and motioned for Skar to sit down too. Skar fell down hard in the sand and played with it. He allowed the sand to flow through his fingers, running down back to where it belonged with the rest of the sand. The warmth of the sand beneath him was cooking the flesh on his rear, but Skar relished the sensation and even enjoyed the dry air. He figured he might as well enjoy the new sensations before they became torment.

Master Bo-Hi looked off into the sun. "You know many things about your family now."

A darkness swept across Skar's joy, clouding his happiness. The joy was diminished as the reality of his life and situation were reinstated. The innocence he had felt only moments earlier was wiped away as easily as the sand had fallen from his fingers. "I know nothing of real value."

"You have learned the true nature of the Kjoil. They were passionate, loving, emotional men."

"They weren't real Jedi."

Master Bo-Hi's head came up. "They never claimed to be."

He was right about that. The Kjoil had been very loud in their intentions of standing out among the Jedi, never claiming to live for the Republic's goals. They lived to protect, but to protect those they loved. Master Bo-Hi had called the Kjoil "Epigones of the Force" and said that their touch with the Force was one so close to the Force that they were practically born within its power.

But if they were so close, than their nature must also have been the one closest to the nature of the Force. Which seemed to mean, he reasoned, that the Force maybe had more to do with love than anything else.

"Skind…all this time I saw him as a hero, as an idol. Now I know he was a failure. The experiment failed big time. Skind Kjoil was a Sith Lord."

Master Bo-Hi gave him a skeptical gaze. "Is that how you really feel?"

Skar remembered what Kayupa had said; he'd admired Skind. "I guess I admire the courage, his dedication to Selia."

Master Bo-Hi nodded in agreement. "In the sense of good and evil he was evil, but in the terms of love…no one could blame him." Master Bo-Hi rose from the ramp and adjusted his cloak. "He is still a man to admire in my opinion."

Master Bo-Hi started walking across the desert towards the sun and the ramp closed behind them, sealing the ship from intruders. Skar saluted it in jest and began following Master Bo-Hi cross the sand. Skar could still turn and see the _Koniduz _behind them when he decided since the situation was already radiating with seriousness he might as well add to the composure.

"You don't have the secret to the Jentarana," he almost whispered. The words did not come easy but they filled his thoughts and he felt it was burden he needed to unload before it clouded him.

Master Bo-Hi's feet almost tripped themselves. Maintaining his balance the Jedi Master turned slowly to look at him. His face showed signs of hesitation. "No, I don't."

Skar held out his arms. "And you hope that I do. But I don't know anything about the Jentarana. I have no idea what the key is. But if you think that I can somehow make it pop out of thin air the least you could do in return is to trust me. Don't keep secrets from me."

Master Bo-Hi crossed his chest. "You are wiser than I thought."

"Let that be a warning to you. We're in this together and if you want my help, you got to be honest with me at all times; agreed?"

Master Bo-Hi smiled. "Very well, young Kjoil. I'm sorry for the past. I was only looking out for you."

Skar walked forward, passing the Jedi Master. "Those times are over. I can look out for myself now."

Master Bo-Hi's eyes followed Skar as the Kjoil walked ahead over the sanddunes, apparently very sure of where he was going, even in unfamiliar territory. "I'm sure you can."

* * *

The sun scorching his back and the ground baking his stomach, Kayupa scouted from the top of the canyon, his interest being the small ashram community on the canyon floor. Monks scuttled from tent to tent, going about their simple lives. A few beasts of burden were grassing outside the camp. Kayupa adjusted his perception with the Force and counted the minds of thirty nomads in all. He recognized some of them. _Great. People I know. _

Kayupa stood and looked over at his companion. Before he could stop it, his hand went to his sidearm out of sheer reflex.

Standing next to him, Shinran jolted. "What's the matter?"

Kayupa allowed his hand to move away from the weapon again. "Nothing. I just…have this urge to reach for my blaster whenever you're near." He made a sardonic smile. "Old habits die hard."

She sighed, and the corners of her lips twitched. "You sure know how to say all the right things to a girl, don't you? Quite the charmer."

"My charm has never saved my life, lady. My aim has."

She crouched down on the edge of the cliff next to him. "Its easier to destroy than create, ever heard that?"

Kayupa tightened his cloak around him and began climbing down the side of the cliff. "I've heard it. And its true."

She followed him down and after some involuntary sliding and tumbling, they reached the bottom. "I remember a man who once told me to trust him."

Kayupa felt the sting. Indeed he had promised her that. He didn't like going back on his word, but - No, it was best to see what the future might bring. Things might not be as bad as they seemed.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

"Then why do you act tough around me? Why can't you just say what's on your mind?"

Kayupa shook his head. The last thing he wanted was to get into that discussion now. "Its got nothing to do with you." He looked off toward the camp. "You can trust me. I just got my own problems right now. Something you can't help me with."

She shrugged. "Fine, keep polishing your armor, tough guy."

Kayupa motioned her to walk behind him, as they approached the camp. "Its custom for women here to stand behind the men. We should follow their customs. It'll make bargaining with them easier."

"Sure," she replied but with some scorn to her voice, "should I pretend to be a slave or do women have rights here too?"

Kayupa heard the spite in her tone. "Some of their customs are valid. For instance, women are supposed to shut up while the men bargain." He turned to her, smiling smugly. "I like that custom." Kayupa reached up and ripped off the bandage on his head. Skar had inflicted a wound on him during their talk in the cockpit. A weakness or loss of strength was a bad thing to radiate while bargaining. "If you have anything to say during the bargaining that can't wait, think it, and I'll know."

She looked at him, an unimpressed look on her face. "You'll read my mind?"

Kayupa nodded as he saw a male monk come walking out of his tent and towards them.

"Then hear this."

Kayupa almost stumbled over his feet when he heard her thoughts. He kept his dignity despite her words bringing images to mind that didn't seem physically possible. _She's got a filthy mouth. _Kayupa turned to her. "Maybe later, lady."

"Stop calling me lady," she whispered as the monk was almost in earshot.

"Whatever the lady wishes," he whispered back in just the last moment.

Shinran knew he was putting up a defense but to her it was only childish and made her resent him more. The monk reached them, bowed to them and Kayupa returned the bow. Forced to silence by alien customs, Shinran could only observe the conversation between the monk and the Jedi Knight.

Kayupa purposely made every friendly move he could think of to convince the monk of their friendly nature. The monk was wearing an old, worn tunic. The man must have been twenty years Kayupa's senior but seemed as young and willing as any of the younger nomads that Kayupa had met. A large gray beard brushed against his tanned chest as he moved his head around. The man had kind blue eyes and completely white hair.

The monk's language was not one Kayupa could talk, but Master Bo-Hi had taught him to search the monk's mind to establish his emotions and from there know what he was saying. And not only his emotions, but also his face sent waves of suggestions through him. Some of worry, some of curiosity, and some of pleasure. The emotions tangled up into words that Kayupa heard perfectly, as if the voice had been speaking directly into his ear, inside his head.

_I am Caedmon, a follower of Perfection. Are you Perfect?_

Kayupa replied, his words in Basic, but with the help of the Force the monk heard them in his own language. "No, sorry. Far from it actually."

The tanned monk smiled and held out hand towards the ashram, letting out a quick laugh. _Would you like to be?

* * *

_

Huddled up inside the primitive tent, Shinran and Kayupa were joined by the monk, Caedmon, along with his two sons and a daughter. Also along for the bargaining were two Priests, they were gurus and the elders of the camp, supervising any bargaining. All of the monks looked the same to Kayupa, ragged but happy. Kayupa surmised that they didn't have anything to be unhappy about. Their lives would the envy of many unfortunate souls and their hedonism suited them as well as their ragged cloaks.

The only ones who never exhibited their happiness were the Elders who never spoke before any outlanders. Their faces were frozen in a grim expression that Kayupa could only interpret as resentment.

Caedmon was a monk in a group that called themselves Circle of Perfection. Apparently the monks were the original inhabitants of Nanh, they engrossed the planet in small ashrams like the one he was currently in. Master Bo-Hi had related to Kayupa that the monks somehow had maintained an equilibrium in their religious interests, everyone believed the same and everyone bowed under the law of the Kamilah. They worshipped the Kamilah, which was the name they gave the vhroniks.

When a follower of Kamilah in the Circle of Perfection reached a certain age, he became an Initiative, who would then have to endure the test of the Kamilah; to step into the cave of the vhroniks.

This was also how disputes were settled; if someone felt unfairly treated they would have to endure the Kamilah, to see if they were entitled to compensation. One would have to endure the Kamilah many times in his or her lifetime, to see if the Perfection was still strong. Surviving the Kamilah meant that the monk was still worthy of Perfection.

It was a harsh way of separating the weak from the strong. One Kayupa didn't approve of. In Kayupa's opinion, not only were their beliefs ridiculous and one-sided, they were stupid and dangerous.

What they really worshipped was the Force, except they were too arrogant and foolhardy to see it. Kayupa didn't think he could allow himself to frown on that, he supposed if someone told him the Force was really something else he wouldn't believe it either. But he knew it to be stupid to venture his opinions about the rituals. It could sabotage the bargaining and their hard earned trust all together.

Caedmon's sons looked like miniature versions of their father. The boys were staring at Kayupa with poorly hidden awe, which brought a slight smile to the corners of his mouth. The daughter looked at Shinran, the way a younger sister would look at an older sibling.

Shinran never opened her mouth and played her role of a woman accustomed to their ways perfectly. With the tension between them Kayupa was happy she was smart enough to know when to set her pride aside and do as she was instructed.

Kayupa cleared his throat. "I know you think of my Master as a friend, despite your differences in the past. He's not oblivious to your life and your philosophy. He respects your beliefs, and he hopes that prior grudges won't disturb future friendship." Kayupa's words were translated to the monks' language.

Caedmon smiled and opened his arms, ever the happy simpleton. _The followers of Kamilah are not at rivalry with your Master. There is nothing more desirable than that of peace between us._

Kayupa heard the words as clear as Basic, happy that they told him what he hoped to hear. "Then we are clear. You are willing to help us?"

Caedmon's face changed somewhat drastic, and like physical proof as his thoughts, he looked over at his offspring. _Desert brings storm soon, then our cattle will scatter. We don't have much food, and our children may suffer. It will be hard for them to survive. I don't think this choice is one that comes easy._

Kayupa looked over at Shinran, glad to know she'd been able to eat during their trip to Nanh. He suddenly remembered how thin she'd looked when he'd sprung her from prison. Looking over at Caedmon's children he suddenly got a glimpse of them starving, their skin white as paper draped over their bones.

In the end he shrugged off the dreadful image and looked over at Caedmon. "I understand the problem, yet it is something I must ask. The people we care about would suffer as well. If there is anything I or my Master can do that would help your situation we would. Please tell us what we could do to make good on your sacrifice. We badly need these supplies."

Caedmon's blue eyes shone. _Jedi are so powerful, yet they cannot hunt their own food._

"I come to you for this favor," Kayupa said with all the best qualities of a diplomat. "Through this exchange of favors, one day you can call upon us for a favor. It is in both our interest to remain connected and dependant upon each other."

The monk looked at his children as if he knew he was about to sacrifice them to death. Kayupa felt the pain inside Caedmon as much as he felt it inside himself. _Your Master is friend of my family. We have no rivalry. Never have. He tells me strange things about the paradox we both embrace. He has points I see, and he has mistakes we can laugh at in good humor. Your Master is wise, yet he sets his goal in odd places. He does not see what powers lie beneath this matter. He can control fire, and make illusions appear, yet he drapes his own mind with lies and innuendoes. _Caedmon lifted an eyebrow. _His fall will be a sad one, but one that could have been avoided._

Kayupa was glad that instant that Shinran had no idea what they were talking about. He bowed his head, not only agreeing with the monk's opinion but also confirming it.

Caedmon rose. _I need return to be sure I am not making a bad decision._

Kayupa tilted his head. "What can I do?"

* * *

A group of Initiatives had gathered a few miles down the canyon, at the very end of it. Their robes gently waving in the wind, they stood in a perfect row staring into a small dark cave, as if waiting for something to come out to greet them. Kayupa crouched down next to the two Elders and Caedmon behind the monks. Kayupa knew them to be Initiatives, young men on their way to become monks. With an unvoiced but heartfelt curse, Kayupa knew what was going on here.

The Kamilah.

Kayupa leaned over to Shinran, when he thought it was safe to talk to her without Caedmon or the Elders noticing. "We can't disturb them, it would ruin the ritual."

Shinran narrowed her eyes in the hot sun, and poured some water from a flask over her face. "Ritual?"

She passed the water to Kayupa and he swallowed the cool drops. "Inside those caves live the vhroniks, the ones that Master Bo-Hi talked about. Predators. Their pale skin can't withstand the sun so they hide, in caves underground. They're connected with the Force in some way that lets them use it to hunt down food," he said, drying his lips with his sleeve.

Shinran looked back at the Initiatives. "So they hunt those that have a connection with the Force?"

"Not quite. Their version of the story is different. Bo-Hi explained to me how it works with the Force. You see, when I first got here, Master Bo-Hi taught me that I wouldn't have to fear the vhroniks if I was sure enough of myself. The vhroniks do hunt through the Force, but they don't attack those who are at sync with it. So they don't attack real Jedi. Only those who doubt themselves, or those who haven't learned control."

Kayupa flinched. A part of him feared he was a target for the vhroniks. His bad mood would make him into a perfect meal for the vhroniks.

"One monk goes in, if he is strong enough with the Force, or the Perfection as they call it, they won't harm him. However if he isn't -"

"- he's dinner?"

Kayupa nodded with a grim expression on his face. "The test is final. The Elders send in a monk when they believe he is ready to become Perfect."

"What about weapons?" Shinran asked.

Kayupa shook his head. "Weapons are a sign of weakness. A real Jedi wouldn't be afraid to just walk right in, if he was sure enough of himself."

Almost on cue a loud howl cried across the sand coming from inside the cave. _The vhroniks have awakened and are ready to eat_, Kayupa thought. Him and Shinran got a little closer. Close enough so Kayupa could see the small sets of yellow eyes that glowed inside the cave. There must have been ten of them or more, counting by the set of eyes, Kayupa estimated.

They watched as the first monk stepped forward to the entrance of the cave, dropped his robe and stood dressed in a pair of dirty pants, then he took off his sandals and tossed them away. He left some jewelry outside on the sand next to his robe. Then he walked in, confidently. Kayupa never saw any shred of doubt in his moves and soon the monk was gone in the shadows of the cave opening.

"May the Force be with him," Kayupa whispered.

"How many do this?" Shinran questioned.

"Enough," Kayupa growled, "they come from all over the planet to visit this cave, or others like it. Its so sick," he spat, "sick and wrong." Kayupa heard the animals move around in there, probably testing the monk, to see if he was to die. If he was worthy of being their supper.

Then it came, first the monk's scream, then the roar of the vhroniks, finished off with a gut-wrenching silence. Kayupa thought he heard moaning and growling coming from inside the cave. Fear radiated off the cave, fear and death.

The monk's body was tossed back out, graded as useless. It fell like a rag doll on the ground amongst the monks, but they didn't move. Didn't even bother to look at their dead companion. Yet Kayupa could feel their sympathy through the Force. It surprised him that the monk had not been eaten, merely tossed out. Perhaps the vhroniks had already eaten or maybe the monk's confidence had been so lacking he had been unworthy of becoming dinner.

A new monk started to undress, it was his turn to enter the cave. Beside Kayupa Caedmon shook his head in disappointment. The monk folded his hands and bowed his head. _He was the son of a friend of mine. We will mourn his loss. We pray to the Kamilah. We follow its will and abide its rules. It mauls, like you just saw, only those who can't understand the Kamilah._

"Looks like it didn't get enough." Kayupa kept his eyes on the new Initiative getting ready to enter the cave.

A grimace seized Caedmon's face. _The Kamilah doesn't always kill for food. Its nourishment comes from a place neither of us can fully understand. _Caedmon's eyes narrowed. _You have Kamilah in you._

Though spoken in a neutral and emotionless voice, the words he said reached inside Kayupa and touched on the anger he had suppressed, ever since he had first learned of the vhroniks. And before he could stop it, a tidal wave of anger coursed through him, warming his face and tightening his fingers. Their spiteful contempt for human life was wrong and he felt ready to let them know. If he hadn't known it wouldn't help the situation he'd drawn his lightsaber and marched in there and cut the head of every single vhronik in there just to rid them of their ritual.

Instead he glanced at the monk. "You mean the Force?"

The monk's head darted to look at Kayupa, and Kayupa could feel resentment coming from the monk. Beside him he could feel Shinran's confusion as well. She'd heard Master Bo-Hi say that to say the word 'Force' around the monks was an insult.

_The Force is not the Kamilah. We know of the Force, but its power is nothing compared to the Kamilah. _Caedmon reached out to touch a small pebble lying at his bare feet. _Its in everything. Life is the Kamilah. The Kamilah is life. Life could not be without Kamilah. And Kamilah could not be without life._

"Just like the Force." Kayupa muttered to himself.

Caedmon raised his voice. _I heard what you said._

Kayupa knew that he should stop insulting their belief but the wave of anger Caedmon had started in him would not die quietly. He felt these rituals needed to stop. It was one thing to die for something you believed in, but dying because of the ignorance of others was disgusting.

"You couldn't have been surprised, I already told you the Force sounds a lot like your Kamilah."

Caedmon lowered his voice again and Kayupa felt disappointment coming from him. _The Kamilah is more suited to make you see the truth._

Kayupa smiled. "I'm not an Initiative, so no thanks."

The monk lifted his hand towards the entrance. _Nevertheless, the Kamilah is in you. The Kamilah will show you. You may enter._

It dawned on Kayupa that the price for the food and supplies would be for him to enter the cave. His heart froze as Caedmon rose and motioned for him to follow. Kayupa reluctantly followed him over to a new group of Elders standing to the side of the Initiatives.

Caedmon stepped over to Kayupa's side. _My bargain with the Jedi is finalized, he will earn the supplies through the Kamilah._

The Elders looked to each other and nodded. The Elders then bowed to Kayupa, signing the deal.

Kayupa hesitantly turned to Caedmon. "What if I fail?"

The monk was silent for a long time, before answering in a very low voice. _Then I am very sorry for both of us. Though you will gain the best prize of us both. You will die, whereas I will have to live with the shame of brining someone unworthy to the Kamilah._

Kayupa scowled. "Great deal."

That was when Shinran opened her mouth. "Kayupa, you're not going in - ?"

Kayupa played the part the monks expected from him. He turned to Shinran and pushed her onto the ground. "I'm talking Basic so they don't understand what I'm saying! They just need to see me yelling at you! Please be quiet!"

Shinran didn't seem to like it at all, but remained quiet. Kayupa turned away from her and started walking over to the Initiatives. The monks turned as they sensed him coming. They felt his intentions and stepped aside. The monk whom had already undressed also stood aside.

Kayupa pulled off his cloak and his tunic.

Shinran ran over and stood in his path, blocking him from the cave. "I won't let you do this!"

Kayupa looked through her, seeing only the cave behind her, feeling only the necessity of it all. His eyes were dead-calm as his purpose became clear. "This is the bargain. Besides, I want an answer to a question." He tossed his clothes aside, and combed back his hair with his fingers. "I need to know."

He took a step forward, but Shinran placed a hand on his chest, pleading him to stop. "But you'll die!"

Kayupa wrapped his own hand around the one she held to his chest, nudging it slightly, giving her a courageous smile, before walking past her. "I'm off to be enlightened."

He walked towards the cave and with each step Kayupa began to wonder if Shinran was thinking of him as exceptionally brave or simply stupid and cocky. He could understand if she saw him as stupid, though he felt that this could prove a lot to her. And to him. The most important thing was that _he _was sure. She might doubt his readiness but _he_ knew that he could. And he knew he would.

As he stepped inside with cautious steps, his eyes searched every corner of the cave's entrance and further inside relying on the Force to warn of any dangers, of which there were lots. It hummed inside him more intensely, the further he got inside. His steps slowed with each advance, caution building up inside him. He knew what he was doing, but he didn't know what to expect.

How would the vhronik ritual in actuality work? Would they sniff him? Would they bite him or would they test him on greater levels? Kayupa snorted to himself. They were, after all, just animals, animals that relied on the Force for hunting, but still _just _animals.

It then occurred to him that if the whole ritual was false and there really was nothing to it, these animals would attack him certainly. Maybe the monks that had survived going into the caves had done something, unbeknownst to them, that had stopped the vhroniks from attacking. Maybe they'd smelled too much of something, or maybe the vhroniks had just fed.

It was possible that everyone that had ever walked into a cave, had never even met a vhronik, maybe they had just hid around the entrance, waiting for time to go by and step back out as a hero. It would confirm Kayupa's belief that they were all ignorant, stupid and cowards. Not to forget stubborn.

Kayupa remembered the young man he had seen get tossed out of the cave only moments earlier. Well, maybe he wasn't that good at hiding or maybe he was one of those poor souls that actually bought the lies the monks had told them.

He looked back one last time, to find he could no longer see the cave entrance. _Hold on to the Force. In order to master the things of the present. _The words rang repeatedly inside his mind as a constant reminder of how to act. Kayupa remembered the advice from the training Master Bo-Hi had given him. He concentrated on the words instead of what his eyes showed him. He admitted to himself that he was afraid but didn't let it conquer him. He worked his mind and emotions to dispel the fear. To make it leave his mind, so he could do what needed to be done. He'd come this far, he had to go on.

Kayupa continued inside until he sensed they were nearby. The caves were howling with the wind coursing through the many tunnels, which told him that the cave had more than an entrance. He heard the clatter of rock on rock and then the ambient sound of scraping claws echoed in his ears. He wondered what they might be doing, maybe they could hear him coming as well. It was only to be expected since they hunted through the Force.

As he turned another corner he knew he was in the right place. If not from the sight, then from the rotting stench of old meat and the smell of rust that could only come from old blood. Sunshine shone through a crack in the ceiling of the "testing floor." In the center of the circular room laid bones, gathered as some form of shrine for previous monks. Kayupa noticed the small holes in the walls, about half the size of a human. The room was three times as tall as him and large enough to fit the _Koniduz_.

As Kayupa slowly walked towards the center of the cave, each little hole lit up with a set of yellow eyes. Small pebbles fell from the holes, as something came closer to the edges. Kayupa saw a set of eyes in every hole now. His hands began to tremble, and every step felt like a mile. He tried to avoid looking back at the yellow eyes, he didn't want to see what they looked like. Their form might strike terror in him and they'd be on him in seconds.

He finally reached the center of the room and stood next to the pile of bones. He took a long deep breath and could feel the vhroniks move around in the cave dwellings, but he never looked straight at them, _To be a Jedi, one must have complete control over his own mind, his emotions, and his thoughts. He must maintain his calm through everything. However dire or serious the situation could prove._

He stretched outwards, making himself open to the Force. He let it calm him. He let it straighten his thoughts and calm his emotions.

Almost as a test of himself, he dared to lock eyes with one of the creatures for the first time as it came slithering out of its hole. Half the size of a man, and walking on four legs, its hind legs shorter than the front, its leathery skin made a pale gray almost dead color which filled Kayupa with dread. Their feet and fingers were lined with razor sharp claws, marked with dried blood. The vhroniks looked sunburned and their yellow eyes shone through small rows of horns that looked like eyebrows. A four foot long tail wagged slowly back and forth behind it. A small blade sat at the end of the tail, adding to the lethality of the sharp teeth that laced their jaws.

Two more joined the first one, surrounding him, but more arrived quickly. They jumped from their holes in the walls and landed with feline grace on all sides of him. Kayupa made a quick count and realized he was surrounded by no more than ten vhroniks. They slowly circled him, growling at each other, not really looking at him, but he knew nothing he did went unnoticed.

By reflex his hand started reaching for his lightsaber, but stopped suddenly. All ten of them stopped in their tracks as if time had frozen and stared at him coldly, almost as if they were baiting him. They knew what he was doing, they knew what a weapon was. They were smart, smarter than he would have thought. They moved closer, their breathing surrounded Kayupa, telling him that there was no way out and there was no way he could take care of them all and get out alive.

But that wasn't the point.

_I am a Jedi, I can do this without a weapon, I don't need it. _

Kayupa reached down, slowly, and pulled the lightsaber forth, he held it so all the animals could see. Their hungry eyes studied him with hints of intelligence, they perched on the ground like a dog watching its owner in curiosity. Kayupa gently threw the weapon outside the circle of vhroniks and heard it land in the sand outside his line of sight. The animals still sat on their hind legs, as if interested in what he might do next, wagging their tails across the sandy floor.

_There is no emotion, there is peace._

"Okay, guys," Kayupa said aloud, and smiled to the creatures, "let's see what I'm worth."

Kayupa crouched down into his meditation-position and closed his eyes. Jedi meditation techniques had been handed down through the ages. It was a way of gaining insight and knowledge in the Force. Kayupa felt connected through the Force to the vhroniks, they were different from him in nature, but not in the Force, they both starved after survival, they both had to eat to survive, and they both had to follow their nature.

Everything was connected in the Force. But the most important thing he learned from the meditation was that they were there too, they were inside his mind.

It was true after all that they looked for signs of the Force in their prey, and the fact that they hadn't killed him yet showed that they indeed did not attack like normal predators. He could feel a connection with them, and realized they were more than animals. They were sentient beings, smarter than most creatures he had ever seen or heard about.

The knowledge filled him with some joy, but it was short-lived as he assessed that meant the monks were right. These creatures did not kill for food or sport, they judged the strength in the individual and that meant the deaths of the monks that had entered the caves had not been as wrong as he had previously thought. These were not just savages that killed on whim, there was intelligence and a sense of right or wrong.

Outside his meditation awareness he heard them growl and pull at this pants, but he refrained from moving, he wouldn't let the fear affect him. He was in complete control. He heard one of them roar behind him, but it meant nothing. He was not afraid. They tried their best to shake him, but nothing disturbed his peace.

Kayupa made his mind lighter and sharper, more sharper than he had ever done before. His thoughts and emotions became one and he no longer felt the outside world. He could hear it, but it sounded like a distant thunder. It was not something nearby anymore, it was elusive. It was another sound in a never-ending flow of impressions.

_There is no ignorance, there is knowledge._

Gradually his mind became more and more stable; his mindfulness and his control became much clearer. The art of using the Force was not wielding a lightsaber. Instead it was the ability to put oneself in tune with the entire universe, maintain peace inside, and feel the nutriment that existed inside the very life of everything. The true meaning of being a Jedi was the one who could understand the power of life itself.

_When the deepest calm is found, there is only the comforting sound of the Force flowing perfectly. In perfect calm, the light is constant and the Jedi acts in accordance with its will. Only when all living things are sensed in his mind, can he be truly called a Jedi. When the mind of the Jedi is unclouded, the Force is at its most pure. _

Back in reality one of the vhroniks stood on its hind legs and licked his face with its raw tongue, the touch of the tongue scraped over cheek and chin like sandpaper and stank of rotting meat. The curious creature then proceeded to smell his ear, giving it a kind and gentle lick as well, the way a pet would lick its master to show its affection. Kayupa could feel its kindness and the vhroniks seemed more like playful dogs than beasts. It sniffed though his hair, drawing a snort from Kayupa.

One creature had even begun to lick his palm, slobbering up the salty sweat from his hand. But none of this moved Kayupa's state of mind at all. He knew they were still trying to distract him, and although it may have seemed playful, this wasn't kindness coming from them, it was another ploy to test him. He ignored other thoughts and feelings that would slacken his control.

Kayupa maintained his control of himself and the Force, reading the subtle lines of rules made by others than him.

Somewhere in distance, not the real world but in another distance he was slowly moving towards, came an image. It was the picture of a young boy lying in crib onboard a spaceship. The baby was crying, screaming at the top of its lungs, but no one was there to hear it. No mother, no father. He felt feelings of hatred and disgust. The feelings were directed at the baby but he didn't know why. Everything happened so fast that he didn't have time to learn more, but the image he'd seen vexed his concentration. Why would anyone hate a baby?

"Kayupa?"

Kayupa fell out of his focus faster than was healthy when reverting from the Force's meditation method, leaving him dazed and weary. He turned in his crouch to see Shinran standing in the cave entrance.

"Kayupa, come on!" she cried.

As one, the vhroniks began to move away from him, and started to corner Shinran. She began to back away towards the entrance of the cave. She'd come to help Kayupa, not knowing that he didn't need help and now she had become the target. Kayupa called to them, trying to make the animals return to him, but they were feeding off the uncertainty in Shinran.

Kayupa rose from his crouch and tried to get the attention of the vhroniks back to him. "Okay, guys," he tried to sound as calm as he could, "let's pretend like this never happened."

A couple of them looked back at him, but never stopped moving towards her. He could sense their emotions as they barked at him and understood what they meant. Kayupa had proven himself, but she was clearly not as worthy. As they began to circle her in Kayupa understood he had to protect her somehow.

"Shinran, move!" Kayupa cried but Shinran didn't budge, she was frozen stiff by the sight of the vhroniks.

His fingers opened and his lightsaber came slamming into his grip. It immediately lit up the room with its blue blade.

All the vhroniks swirled around to him and stared at his weapon, growling at its light. He knew he only had to hold them until Shinran made it outside, but he didn't know how. They turned away from him, putting their interest back in Shinran, who looked like easy prey to them.

And then he understood. They wouldn't attack him. The vhroniks _trusted _him and had confirmed his strength in the Force. They knew he wouldn't attack them, he couldn't, not after what they shared with him before. Not after they'd spared his life. And it was their nature to hunt someone like Shinran.

The creatures prowled closer to Shinran, her stuttering breath amble proof that she didn't have a prayer of being spared. Kayupa's mind raced to think of something to do. They hunted unworthy Jedi and Kayupa was the only Jedi in sight.

The choice did not come easy but feeling the strong pull towards Shinran, he really had no choice at all. Like most people did, Kayupa knew what memories he had to visit to make himself feel angry, afraid or hateful. And since a memory that contained all of those was so close, it flowed to him within heartbeats.

Great currents of wrath swelled inside him as he opened his heart and soul to the Dark Side.

"I'm losing my _patience_!" Kayupa screamed as he lunged his saber at the nearest vhronik, slicing off its head and sending gashes of blood over the walls. The body fell down with a heavy thump and the others stepped back in shock, and by the look of frenzy in their eyes he knew they could taste his anger. Now he was not worthy anymore, he had opened up to a weakness.

_He _was now their prey.

The vhroniks growled and scraped their talons on the cave floor.

"Yeah, _come on_!" he invited with a snarl, then circled and sliced one vhronik in half. The others roared at his betrayal and spread out to surround him. The cave stank of burnt hair and death.

"_Shinran, go!_"

The vhroniks roared again and two jumped at him with their claws held out. Kayupa ducked beneath their lunge and sliced through them both as they flew over him. Their severed bodies slammed against the fall wall and slid to the floor. He could no longer see Shinran in the cave, but there was little time to celebrate her survival. More vhroniks filed into the cave and soon he found himself forced to back up. He held his lightsaber ready in front of him while slowly stepping backwards.

His back touched wall the second another vhronik jumped for him. He dodged its approach by tilting his body sideways, grabbed onto the creature's neck, while it was in flight, with a free hand and slammed its skull into the wall behind him. Its cranium popped open instantly, splattering blood and brains over the wall and himself.

Ten more had entered the cave by then, and the lack of floor space had inspired some of them to jump into their holes to launch attacks from the darkness, or crawl along the walls, a feat he found very impressive.

Kayupa swirled his lightsaber before him like a shield, intimidating them. He knew sooner or later that ploy would grow useless. With the amount of intelligence he had found in them, he knew that very little tactics would hold against the sheer numbers they possessed. Nevertheless he was prepared to fight until he could no more.

Knowing Shinran was safe brought some happiness to the bitter taste of defeat he felt inside.

More vhroniks tried to break through his defense but were met with quick strikes that crippled them for life. Their only hope was to overwhelm him but it would cost them. Their intelligence belied a strategy to sacrifice their own to get through his defense.

One got close enough to wipe its taloned tail at him like a whip and he dodged it the first time. The second time he'd forgotten about the sharp hook at the tip of the tail, the claw slashed open his pants and right thigh.

Trying to ignore the pain of the slash he'd taken to the thigh, trying his best not to think that his mistake would be his downfall, Kayupa raised his hands up high and carved down through gray flesh, arteries and bones with his sword, crying out in rage as he did. The creature howled in anger, its paws clawing at the floor but its body soon stopped thrashing and Kayupa freed his blade from its carcass.

Fatigue overtook him, and it shocked him how quickly it came. He could feel a cloud of discomfort in his head that was more than just physical pain. His reversion from mediation had happened too quickly, and his mind and body was suffering for it.

Blood was everywhere by then, and Kayupa no longer had any indication on how much of it was his. His face was covered with it, running down his nose and over his lips. The wound on his thigh had made his pants black from the hip down. As he had when first entering the cave, he could smell the rusty scent of the blood in the air. Knowing it was his own this time sent fear through his stomach.

Kayupa firmed his grip on the slippery handle of the sword, also covered in blood, dripping like hot wax from his hands as he moved. More and more vhroniks were filing into the cave, each of them filled with hatred and hunger.

Kayupa stepped forward, his bloodied and determined grin more terrifying than twenty ravenous Rancors. He wasn't going to lay down and let them eat him. He was going out in a blaze of glory, he would let anger and hatred be the wings that carried him from the torment he had suffered.

"Come on!" he cried out in agony.

A single vhronik leaped at him from the left, its claws reaching for him as it flew through the air. Kayupa met its flight with his saber, batting it out of the air and throwing it to the wall behind it in three pieces. Two more followed suit, growling as they came at him. Kayupa slashed off the head of the first to reach him, the weight of its body hitting him and pinning him to the rubble.

The second landed beside him, never missing a beat and came right for him. Its claws dug into the dead vhronik on top of him, and he felt them pierce his chest as well. He yelped but found that the claws weren't long enough to pierce too deep and that no organs had been pierced. Kayupa gathered what strength he had left to lift his legs up and kick away the corpse over him.

The second vhronik jumped back and then came forward, its mouth wide open and going for his jugular. Kayupa rolled away and the vhronik slammed its face down into the hard slab beneath him, teeth breaking off and black blood coursing from its lips. Before the animal had a chance to express its pain Kayupa hacked sideways through its mouth, cleaving its face and brains, sending the top of the skull flying off into the midst of the snarling vhroniks.

Kayupa went down on one knee beside the faceless creature, panting for air, sweat running down his chest, face and back. He felt drained, completely empty, the sounds of the hissing vhroniks merely hazy background clatter he couldn't focus on. All he could give attention was the despair and weakness he felt inside. But what he found inside himself was more than his own feelings. The emotions the vhroniks carried stole into his soul and he felt their disappointment, sense of betrayal, their wishes to shred him to pieces for his deception. He fed on their rage, and although a part of him rejected any feeling that came close to anger he couldn't help but cling to it.

By now he was sure it was the only thing that could save him. His heart told him he had to stop, and all he had ever learned in training told him that it was better to die than live a life influenced by the Dark Side. The problem was he wasn't entirely convinced he was ready to die. He longed for release from the pain and fatigue that had conquered his body, but there were still too many things he wanted out of his life. Many goals he had set for himself.

To die now, in a vhronik cave on Nanh, would be to spit in the face of everything he had ever stood for.

Kayupa raised himself back up, stared out at the sea of vhroniks that all roared, shrieked and ached for his blood. Resolution burrowed itself into his soul and he found that in Dark Side was not only a way to cheat death.

There was power undreamed of.

Kayupa held out his hands towards the vhroniks and spread his fingers wide to point at every corner of the cave.

And then he let go.

* * *

Shinran's heart bloomed with relief when she saw Kayupa stagger out of the cave. Seeing the wound on his leg she raced to help him, but stopped midway when she saw the animosity in his eyes. He stopped just outside the cave, his ferocious face smeared with blood and dirt. His right leg was bleeding but the wrath in his eyes told her that he was oblivious to the pain.

He just stood there, staring back at her and then moved his angry gaze out over all the monks.

Defiantly he raised his blue lightsaber up over his head, holding it for all of them to see, then swept it down in a quick slash. The gesture was lost on her but the way the monks stood back and muttered apprehensively amongst themselves told her it couldn't be good. She didn't know whether to fear him or admire him for making it out alive. She wasn't entirely sure she understood what it meant to their bargain or to their religion that he had killed vhroniks, but she was glad he had protected her.

More urgently she wanted to yell for him to move away from the cave entrance before any more of the creatures came out, but the way he stood, the confidence and defiance in his eyes, told her that there was no danger.

The muscles in his jaw tightening, Kayupa finally extinguished his lightsaber. He gathered his cloak at the cave-entrance and nodded to the monks. The monks nodded back to him and bowed their heads.

He then walked over to her and stood before her. "The bargain is completed; the food is ours," he said tensely.

She was glad to hear that, but it was the last question she had on her mind. "What did you do?"

The sun reflected off the sweat on his stained face. "I did what I had to."

* * *

Cursing softly beneath his breath, of which there wasn't much, Skar told himself one more time that he surely soon had to be wherever he was going. The sun hammered down on him from all sides, and the air felt like he was breathing the inside of an oven. Waves of heat washed over him again and again, blurring everything more than twenty feet away from him. He couldn't see anything further than that, and all he had to follow was the dark shape of Master Bo-Hi walking in front of him. Skar had taken off his shirt, tied it around his waist, exposing his pale upper body to the merciless sun. He knew he might get sunburns but his mind worked differently under such heat. He could live with sunburns later if it meant he didn't feel like he was suffocating now.

He couldn't comprehend how Master Bo-Hi could stand wearing the heavy cloak, but every time he thought to ask sand filled his mouth and he once again longed for Nar Shaddaa. Nar Shaddaa, where it rained always, where there was always water within reach, where there was shadow everywhere. Skar wiped sweat and sand from his brows, ran his hand down his wet chest and belly, collecting enough sweat that it dripped from his hand. Skar still hadn't resorted to drinking his own sweat, but he found the idea didn't sound as disgusting as it had an hour ago.

Was it an hour ago? How long had he been walking? He looked up to the sun for answer but it only blinded him. Skar cursed again and trod on. He tried to distract his body by thinking of other things, but there wasn't much to block out the heat washing off the sand. Even his boots felt like they were melting. His feet and toes ached with each step, and he was sure he had already contracted more than one blister.

His thoughts went out to Shinran, and he wondered if she was faring as poorly as him. More than worried about her condition, he worried about Kayupa, the ever sullen Jedi Knight who was falling deeper into his own internal conflicts with every day.

Skar in some part had given up on Kayupa, he believed that maybe the friendship he had once sought with the man would never be the same. And the more he thought about it he realized he'd only really had a good friendship with the man a couple of days. Maybe those days were only a phase, maybe what he had seen the last couple of weeks was the real Kayupa.

He hated to think Kayupa's bad mood was a result of Skar getting closer to Shinran, but it was possible. It wasn't as if Skar had been given a chance to talk to Kayupa about it. The only times he'd spoken with Kayupa in the last weeks had been filled with disaster or hesitation. He wanted to know what was bothering Kayupa, if infact it was more than the same worry Skar also carried about their future. If it was about the Jentarana.

Skar didn't know what to think about it, the Jentarana was an awesome power, but it was impotent without a key. Skind Kjoil had taken his secret with him in death, and Skar saw no way that the Jentarana would ever be brought to life again.

But then he had learned never to trust his own predictions. Two months ago he never would have thought he would be where he was now. Only he didn't really know where he was now, and the future seemed to possess as many possibilities as it did pitfalls.

Even Bo-Hi concerned Skar. The Jedi Master had agreed to train Skar when the time was right, when Skar was free of concern and not clouded by his emotions anymore, but the Jedi Master _had _to have his own agenda for Skar. And Skar had a hunch it revolved around the Jentarana.

Was the Jedi Master intending to use it to launch an attack on the Empire? Skar could certainly understand that, and he even condoned it in part. But to a Jedi it was walking on the Dark Side. It was not the Jedi way to make an attack. The Jedi defended and protected and helped the innocent. They weren't soldiers. But even defending the innocent could be dangerous if it was done through an attack.

Skar cursed once more.

_I guess life will always be that way. Even in your most joyous moments you can always find something to darken the view. Its important to stay positive and not worry about the future. All that matters is the moment, its the only vector from which you can shape the future._

Skar looked up, and realized too late that Master Bo-Hi had stopped walking. Skar walked straight into the Jedi Master's back and almost toppled over. His body wasn't used to standing still, along the way he had told himself that if he stopped walking he would never start again. The moment he stopped his body would remind him how tired it was and he doubted he would find the strength to walk on.

Master Bo-Hi looked back at him and grabbed onto his shoulder. "You alright?"

Skar nodded, leaned over and placed his hands on his knees. "How much further?" he asked in a coarsely voice.

"We're there."

Skar looked around but saw nothing but rocks and cliffs. Infact one gigantic cliff stood before them and continued out to either sides of him, like a giant wall in the middle of the desert, and if the Jedi hadn't told him this was their destination, the thought of scaling the wall would have knocked him out.

Then Master Bo-Hi held out his right hand, directing his palm outward. Skar didn't see why the Jedi would do this, except to ward off something that was coming. Skar looked out in the direction of Master Bo-Hi's hand and saw what had been Master Bo-Hi's objective.

The cliff-wall changed.

Out of nowhere, on the side of the cliff a blurred shape the size of a doubled leveled building began to appear. It went from a ragged rock-surface to being completely flat. Intricate patterns emerged around the entrance, slithering like living creatures before solidifying in odd symbols, adding to its majesty.

When the metamorphosis was over, a huge mural of rock was towering over the temple's entrance. Skar didn't recognize or understand any of the symbols, but he understood enough to know that it was old.

And there, in the middle of the beautifully sculptured doorway was the entrance to his new home. A black rectangle leading inside the cliff.

Skar turned to Master Bo-Hi for explanation. "How?"

"Some places you have to believe in to be able to see them. Within the Force there are no lies. The Force can hide anything from you if you don't know that it is really there. If the Force had been with you, you'd felt the power of this temple when we started walking."

Skar's eyes narrowed. "I couldn't see it, isn't that disappointing?"

Master Bo-Hi looked at him. "If you _had _seen it, I would have been disappointed."

"Why?"

Master Bo-Hi held out a hand. "Because then I would have nothing to teach you."

Then he swept out his hand and it was almost as if he opened a portal to another world. Out in front of the entrance a wide tent appeared hanging over a wooden deck, which made the whole scenario look like some peasant's home. More importantly the deck lead out into a vast lake.

Skar's heart leaped. A beautiful, clear and blue reservoir of endless water that glistened with the sun's reflection. He almost cried and it was the most welcome and beautiful sight he had ever seen. He knew he was being foolish, and knowing that was the only reason he didn't strip right there and dive right in. Skar liked the thought of the water being right outside the door if he wanted to go swimming. And if the last few hours were any indication of the climate to come, swimming would definitely take up a lot of time in his life.

Skar shuffled his feet. "Can I - ?"

"Later," Master Bo-Hi said sternly and walked towards the entrance.

Skar took another look around his surroundings and noticed many places that the _Koniduz _could have set down instead of them walking across the desert in baking heat. "Master, why didn't we land up there on the cliffs? There's plenty of space for the _Koniduz_."

Master Bo-Hi half turned, but kept walking. "The walk in the sand was quite a learning experience for you. You've understood more clearly what kind of world you are on," the Jedi Master chuckled. "I shouldn't have to tell you that the best way to learn about a place is to actually go there."

Skar frowned._ So walking through miles of desert in scorching sand is knowledge now? This Jedi stuff is gonna be tough._

Shedding off his compounding confusion, Skar reached the temple and stepped inside. What met him made his jaw drop wide open.

"Wow…"

The main chamber had a huge dome carved in the ceiling, with inscriptions written in stone and colorful images of past battles. Every room was carved directly out of the cliff and no wall was not made of stone. Even the floor was polished rock. Skar also saw the circle carved in the floor, directly beneath the dome, where he guessed training transpired. Master Bo-Hi flung out a hand and by command candles were lit on small ledges in the walls and some were burning inside small pots placed around the circle on the floor.

"This temple was built long ago. Smugglers had been using it to storage contraband when I found it, but they haven't been back in ten years. Which means its ours now."

Skar suppressed a question. Smugglers couldn't have made the entrance he'd seen outside, and if it was a temple even before these supposed smugglers had used it, then what was the temple before? To whom was it a temple? Who had sought refuge here? "So, this is where you came before…?"

"Yes," the Master answered. "This is where I planned to teach the Jedi that would survive the Jedi Purge."

"Was the temple as it is now?"

The Jedi Master turned to him. "What you're really asking is if I created the symbols you saw out there."

Skar shrugged. "That's two questions," he said flatly, "but I'll settle for one answer."

Master Bo-Hi bowed his head slightly. "I did not. I don't know who originally designed this temple, or what it was for."

Skar found it hard, but decided to believe him. "Where can I put my things?"

They journeyed on through the temple and were met by more vast tall rooms and chambers, all fitted with murals and sculptures along tall gray pillars that reached all the way to the ceiling. Skar understood it was meant for peace and seclusion. A place to rest and gather ones thoughts. _Just the kind of place I've been looking for._

"There are many rooms here. You should give yourself time to walk around the temple, to get to know it better. There are some chambers for different purposes, but you'll realize their purpose once you see them."

Skar dropped his bags on the floor. "Okay, I'll try again. Where do I _sleep_?"

Master Bo-Hi spread his hands. "Pick the one you find most fit, and its yours." The Jedi Master turned away from him and started walking back towards the entrance, towards the outside.

"Where are you going?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The Jedi Master chuckled warmly. "I'm going swimming in the lake."

Skar frowned as the Jedi Master disappeared down the hallways of the temple. Picking his bags back up, Skar went hunting through the temple, more impressed with every chamber he saw. All of them were cozy and homely, though not quite the size he was looking for. He'd been used to a cramped apartment, and little privacy in the _Koniduz_, so this time he wanted something with more space. A place he could move around in, without waking someone up or tripping over stuff.

Finally he found a room below the main chamber that he liked. Skar walked into the room and immediately knew it was perfect. It was bigger than the apartment he'd shared with Lwen on Nar Shaddaa, this was actually an apartment in itself. Combined living room and bedroom. A restroom with lots of space and a shower. Standing out from all the other rooms, this one had walls coated with brown wood, Skar didn't even want to guess at where they'd got it, but he figured it would have been the work of the smugglers who had lived here before.

He also blamed them for the soft carpet that was a welcomed change for this tired feet. The living room had a bed big enough for two, a table for dining and four sets of chairs around it, not to mention a couch, draped with smooth red leather. Whoever the smugglers had been, they had been good at decorating.

However he did make some changes, he moved a commode over by his bed and placed his special items neatly on the commode at the foot of the bed. The Holocron stood perched on top of the wooden cabinet and he folded all his clothes into the drawers.

As Skar unpacked his things he looked them over with a smile. Sand-brown pants, a cloak, lightsaber, a tunic, his Holocron. The marks of a Jedi.

Skar found a mirror in a cabinet in the rest room and for the first time he got an image of what he looked like. His short brown hair was thick with sweat and was in desperate need of a wash. Combined with the pale skin he'd gotten from space-travel and the sweat, his face had a pinkish hue. He blamed that on his seclusion onboard the _Koniduz _the last month.

The beard growing on his jaw he thought suited him, it made him look older, stronger, rougher. He felt more like a man. Skar smiled at his own burly reflection and ran his fingers through the whiskers, combing it more neatly, the sensation tickling his palms. There were spots he would shave, and he couldn't wait to experiment with what kind of style would suit him best. In all fairness he thought he looked like a mean -

His uncle, he realized with a silent shock.

Even more so with the tussled hair and the beard. Skar wondered if his uncle was anyone to look up to, to admire enough that one took joy in seeing any resemblance with him. He admired his choices but didn't like the thought of seeing his uncle's face every time he looked in the mirror.

_My uncle, my own blood, was a Sith Lord._

_A warning._

Skar pulled out a shaving-kit and set about ridding himself of the beard.

* * *

The night outside the tent haunted Kayupa, its very darkness a silhouette of his inner emotions. A portrait of shadows and blackness like the one painted over his mind. A breeze snapped at the corners of the tent opening by his feet, none of the monks were awakened by the sound and Kayupa liked it that way.

Because it meant they also wouldn't wake to the sound of his crying. To let them see him cry would demean him, and he was superior in their eyes now. Not only had he entered the cave and come back out alive; he'd killed vhroniks, something no one had done before.

No one had ever dared venture to the beasts with a weapon. They were afraid the weapon would signify weakness, but Kayupa had come to understand the vhroniks were not stupid animals, they were smart, cunning and wise. They knew what a weapon could do, so they presented him with respect. And he'd killed them when necessary. He'd been judge, jury, and executioner. The monks called him Da'achyuta, the Invincible One. Maybe the next time they went to the caves and found that there were no more vhroniks to test, they would change their minds.

_Fools! Their religion blinds them from what really happened. To them I was successful, but I know I failed. I gave in to my - What emotion did I really give in to?_

Kayupa looked at the sleeping Shinran on the other side of the tent with the other slave women.

_I gave into the greatest feeling of all. _

He thought back on the things he had yet to talk with Master Bo-Hi about. The Jentarana being at the top of the list. His connection with the Force had withered since Corellia, when the Jentarana had been stolen. The experience had been filled with negative emotions. Hate, fear and doubt. Hate for the men who had taken the Jentarana from him, his birthright, his destiny. Fear for what would happen if the Jentarana was never recovered, if it was never taken back.

The Jentarana. Almost a more corruptive power than the Dark Side, its darkness still held certain unexplainable irresistible qualities for him. Its terrors were replaced with wonders inside his mind, shining a light in the dark corners of his mind. Where some would step back in fear, he would fall to his knees, like the patient devotee he was. Its power was great, too great, even for the Jedi. But still he craved it, he wanted it, it belonged to him.

Through it was a means to bring back the order of the Old Republic, the way things had once been, as he had heard from Master Bo-Hi.

All his training suddenly seemed to mean nothing. Because he could see, almost touch, the path he wanted to take, and it did not include the Jedi Code. It included going off on his own, to find a way to neutralize the Jentarana. The incident in the cave had opened his mind to alternate paths. He'd always been told that the Dark Side of the Force was corruptive but Kayupa had never felt as clear and pure as he had in its grasp. It opened up many paths for him, but closed just as many.

If he chose the Dark Side, he would have to say goodbye to Skar, Shinran and Master Bo-Hi. He doubted he could and he also knew that if his dreams were to be realized he would need Skar to help him find the key to the Jentarana.

But Master Bo-Hi was in the way of Kayupa living out those wishes. His codes and rules went against what Kayupa knew to be right for him. Master Bo-Hi thought him to be reckless, but Kayupa saw it as courage.

And the Jentarana was the key. It could bring the Empire down, but only at a terrible price. One he wasn't sure he wanted to pay. Skar was also an issue. Kayupa had yet to talk with his Master about Skar's superior Force control and lightsaber skills. He had been better that Kayupa.

But Kayupa blamed that on his bad mood, it didn't know it if it was right, but it saved his dignity. He'd been out of focus and Skar wasn't. There was no way Skar could be better than him. It just couldn't be.

Shinran stirred in her sleep as if she could feel his watching eyes. She awoke and sat up in the tent, as if wondering where she was. It all came back to her in a flash and she looked at Kayupa. Their eyes met, she saw the tears in his eyes, and she crawled across the tent to sit by him. Kayupa remembered feeling a desire to help her but it was long gone now. He had to put himself first. How could he help her if he couldn't even help himself?

"Why are you still awake?" she whispered.

Kayupa rolled over on his back and looked up at her. "I…failed in the cave. I gave in to the Dark Side."

There was empathy in her eyes. "Why?"

Kayupa had wondered at that subject too. Was his control so lacking that he gave it up whenever he couldn't find it fast enough? Or did his sacrifice mean something more? _Master, where are you when I need you? _Kayupa sat up and crossed his arms over his kneecaps. "I...had to protect you."

She leaned closer. "But wasn't there a way that could have kept you on the good side?"

Kayupa shrugged. "I didn't think. I just went with my gut."

"And your gut told you to kill the vhroniks?"

Kayupa's head came up, but dodged her gaze. His hands went over his long hair and ended at the back of his neck. "Disturbing, isn't it? My first reflex was to use force."

Shinran lowered her voice. "Skar said you'd been acting weird from the get-go. That you've been different. Tense."

Kayupa nodded. "I have been, I know. My world is changing around me."

"How?"

He was surprised at his own words, how easily they came to him. How great it felt to unburden his heart. He knew it was in some part Shinran that made it so easy. He felt close to her, somehow there was something in the past that made them relate easily to each other. And yet there was a friction between them, something that bugged them both.

Kayupa wished he'd just once in his life experienced love on a more emotional level. He'd never had the privilege of saying that he was in love with someone. His life had been lonely, even when others were around. He was private, but it wasn't by choice. It just felt like it was the only way things made sense.

"You, for example. And Skar. You were both rushed into my life so fast that I didn't think about how it might affect me."

"Are you sorry you brought us along?"

Kayupa shook his head lightly and smiled. "No. Skar is necessary for our cause. Very important, but Master Bo-Hi has withdrawn himself so much that I don't know him anymore. And to lose him…I've lost myself."

She understood. "He's like a father to you."

"And where is the son without the father? He's left alone. And unloved."

She moved her body towards him, their faces so close they could sense each other's breaths on their faces. "You said you knew what it was like to be unloved?"

Kayupa nodded. "I was brought up by scavengers and killers, none of them cared for me. But Master Bo-Hi, he loved me, taught me, trained me," Kayupa began to stutter, "he cared, and now he cares only for - " His throat closed in on him as painful emotions came to close to the surface.

Shinran's green eyes were filled with compassion. "You can tell me."

He summoned the strength. "_Glory_. Redemption." Kayupa knew that was true. Master Bo-Hi wanted a revolution as much as he did, only Master Bo-Hi was too afraid to go for it through the Jentarana. _Before victory comes humility._

"What redemption?"

"The story he told you about leaving the Republic behind was the hardest thing he's ever done. He feels failed and useless because his hopes for the future have not come true. He hasn't been able to raise the Jedi Order from its ashes."

Shinran looked down at her hands. Obviously surprised to see them interlocked with his, she pulled back for a moment, but then stopped and tightened her hold on Kayupa's. "And now his hopes lie with Skar?" She shook her head slowly. "You're just jealous."

Kayupa looked at her, studying the lines of her face, curious as to how someone created something so beautiful, only then to leave it in a place where nothing made sense. "I know."

"So you admit it?"

Looking down at his and her hands, Kayupa ran a finger across hers, seeing how the hairs rose on her arm. He even felt the sensation through her, that awkwardness of something that was more than just two people talking. Something intimate. Something only lovers would do. "I admit to know the pieces when I see them. The pieces of the puzzle are scattered, the balance ruptured and bleeding. I have to make the pieces fit back together."

There was intimidation in her eyes, and puzzlement. "How?"

"I have to take a look on the puzzle from afar, to see how it all fits together. I need time to think, time alone. Away from all this."

Shinran finally let go of his hands. "Skar cares for you," her expression changed to worry for a moment as she said his name. But as she looked back up there was mischief there. "Don't worry about Skar. As long as he's with me, we'll be fine."

Kayupa wanted to laugh at her joke, but all he could muster was a twitch at the corner of his lips. "Its not you two I'm worried about."

* * *

Skar watched with all the enthusiasm of a man who was seeing a new world for the first time. The sun descended its course, slowly taking into hiding far off in the horizon. Skar watched the sky turn from bright day into dusk, while still maintaining its warmth. The evening wind had the veil in the entrance to the temple flowing, brushing up and down Skar's side as he stood in the opening. He fought the urge to explore the world on his own, despite it being one of his future projects. Right now he wasn't thinking about learning more about Nanh, although it had proved all the more interesting with each moment he spent on the planet.

The reason he'd sought to the outside, other than watching the sunset, was the arrival of his friends. After a day and a half apart, he longed to see them again. Master Bo-Hi hadn't been much of the social companionship since they'd reached the temple. Skar had hardly seen him, but it worked out nonetheless, because it gave him freedom to find himself again, and to explore the temple on his own. What he'd found had given him a better sense of where he was and how the temple connected, but it left him more curious as to who had built it in the first place, and why.

He'd felt their coming and awaited them with the happy expression of a schoolboy. Shinran was the first to show herself, the journey to the monks went unmarked and she still looked radiant. When she saw him her slow walk turned into a sprint over the deck and she practically jumped into his arms. The reunion was warm and Skar felt a special joy in holding her again, to hold her so close. To know she was alright.

She pulled back and her fingers tugged at his chin. "You've lost the beard?" Her fingers moved to his scalp, playing with his newly cut hair. "The hair looks better."

Skar felt his heart pounding against his ribcage, and the intimate way she had touched him allowed him room for a more honest reply. "You look beautiful too."

She smiled appreciatively, then turned and took a few steps past him to look closer at the temple. "Wow. Nice place."

Skar made a shrewd smile. "Yeah, we got a sweet deal. The rent's cheap, own pool, ample space and the landlord's a Jedi Master."

She laughed. "What have you been up to, Skar?"

Skar shrugged, and cocked a sarcastic smile. "This and that. Learning the inner structure of the cosmos, and being at one with the force that holds everything together. Eternal enlightenment and finding the true meaning of life. _And _I took a bath."

She laughed again and then looked past him to the figure standing behind Skar on the deck.

"Kayupa."

Skar turned and felt ashamed at how he'd forgotten Kayupa was there too. The Jedi Knight stood there like a ghost, looking back and forth between them, shifting the weight of the supplies on his back. Before Skar's feelings managed to manifest into true guilt he felt the deep dark emotions clouding inside him. Kayupa looked sullen, more than ever, giving only a small twitch of his lips before walking past Skar, ignoring him.

Skar opened his mouth. "Hey - "

"You were wrong about the rent being cheap, kid. You'll earn the rent through blood, sweat and tears, most of it in the cause of someone else's goal."

Skar was almost afraid to ask. "How did it go?"

Shinran hesitated. "Okay….I guess. We got what we came for."

Skar looked over at Kayupa for further information but the Jedi was busy stowing supplies through the door. He could still feel the tenseness in him, only now it'd grown. Before it was like a flickering light bulb, but now it was flaming so bright it hurt one's eyes to look at it.

Kayupa finally turned to him, a spark of regret in his eyes. "Look, I'll explain things to you later. For now, get Shinran a room."

"Sure," Skar said. "What did - ?"

"Where's Master Bo-Hi?" Kayupa asked flatly.

Skar found the tone of his voice, and his interruption, discomforting. _The way you said Master, like he was a burden to you_, Skar thought. "I think he's in his room."

Kayupa nodded once and walked away without further explanation, supplies under each arm.

_What the hell is going on here? _Skar looked to Shinran for an answer.

She shrugged, a miserable look on her face. "Don't ask. But enjoy what time you have with Kayupa. I don't think he's staying."

* * *

Kayupa straightened his cloak and shifted his lightsaber to the front of his hip, before knocking on the door.

"Come in."

Hearing his Master's voice realized what until then had seemed only like a thought. Up until now confronting Master Bo-Hi had seemed so unreal, he never thought he would find the courage to do it. And that he was here, it felt scary and he couldn't believe he was finally going to do it. His heart raced as he touched the pad and the door swooshed open.

Kayupa stepped through and the door sealed shut behind him. Jedi Master Bo-Hi Dzog was standing by a hologram projector in the center of his room, studying hard the image hovering in green before him. Kayupa looked at the hologram and saw that it was transmitting messages from the Holonet, the Galaxy's information source, it transmitted news through the entire Galaxy. Kayupa didn't care for the news, he had too much to deal with already.

Instead he sat down on the end of Master Bo-Hi's bed and interlocked his fingers in front of him. "You said you would talk with me, when we had time?"

Sensing Kayupa's turmoil Master Bo-Hi walked over to stand before him. "We have time now, my son."

Kayupa's heart closed in a cold fist. _You wouldn't call me that if you knew why I was here. _"I am at a loss, Master."

"What troubles you?"

Kayupa shared his thoughts and feelings. Everything about the Jentarana, Shinran, Skar and the cave. Nothing was left out and the crying came almost instantly. The Jedi Master comforted him but his efforts failed. Kayupa felt too much grief to let anything seep through his fractured heart. He felt so angry at Master Bo-Hi for having not been there. For not having the opportunity to talk about what was going on.

Kayupa blamed Master Bo-Hi for being too involved in Skar to care for him anymore. Master Bo-Hi refused but to no end. The silence that had been between them shielded the pain, but didn't make it go away. Instead it had found root and was now grown into a flower of mistrust. Kayupa wore his negativity like a crown, and he was the king of grudges.

Kayupa took in a deep breath and tried to find a way to say the exact way he felt inside. "I've…_lost _myself." He had already made up his mind, and it was the best decision for everybody. "Its been too long since I've been able to say I was proud of who I am. Something is picking at me, something undisclosed is coming through. I've searched the Force for ways to calm it, but nothing seems to work."

Master Bo-Hi nodded. "I felt it in you when we left the Jentarana behind, and when we saw the Rebels in space. You're not happy with my decision to leave it behind."

"No, I'm not. I want to go back and get it. I can't…_let _them have it. I know they can't use it, but it shouldn't be there. We need it."

Master Bo-Hi held up a clawed finger. "Not yet."

"_I_ need it!" Kayupa snapped. "I could feel it when I was inside. The Force called out to me, to take it from them, and use it to do what I was trained to do."

The Jedi Master was unmoved. "War is not our occupation."

"Then what _is_ our occupation?" Kayupa spat, "waiting around for it all to go away?"

Master Bo-Hi shook his head, disappointed at Kayupa's ignorance. "We will do our part for the revolution. Its just not our time yet. Skar must be trained first. We can't ignore the potential in him."

Kayupa calmed down, but the rage would not leave him. And it found a companion in his jealousy. "You mean he'll get you the Jentarana?"

The Jedi Master shook his head. "Whether he does or not makes little difference. But mark my words; Coruscant will be ours again."

Kayupa sighed. "Coruscant. Nothing good has ever come out of there."

Master Bo-Hi's face darkened. "Don't think I haven't read those dreams you have. Coruscant can still be saved."

"That's _your_ ideal," Kayupa said flatly and looked at nothing. "Mine is down a different path."

Master Bo-Hi's expression changed to worry. "What happened to you on Nar Shaddaa?"

"My connection with the Force has dimmed. I felt it after I left the Jentarana. Since then it feels like someone has put a blanket over my head. I can't think straight."

Bo-Hi hugged himself. "What you're feeling is only to be expected. You and I have shared these ideals and dreams for the future ever since I began your training. And, yes, even I waver at times. I've struggled to keep you patient, and I've always reminded you that with time comes fulfillment. You _must _not give up now. With Skar, we find a new step in the right direction. Its a little one for now, but you've seen what he can do. Its only a matter of time before his training is completed. Then he will be greater than any of us. He will be our redemption."

Kayupa snorted. "Are you serious?"

The Jedi Master's voice turned grim. "You are clinging so hard to the Jentarana that you don't see what is right in front of you. The Jentarana is, and will always be, a tool. Tools are cold and only as good as the one who operates it. With Skar," Bo-Hi searched for the right words, "we will have something even greater! Imagine what power he will possess! Don't tell me you haven't thought of this?"

Kayupa shook his head. "You talk about him as if he was some _thing_. He's my friend."

Bo-Hi tilted his head. "Is he really?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, do you still see a friend in him when you see him…with Shinran?"

Kayupa's heart almost ignited with anger, and he realized quickly the anger was not aimed at Bo-Hi, but rather it was a reaction from the mental image in his head. Kayupa pushed the thought away. "Skar is my friend. No matter what happens between Shinran and him, that won't change. Skar is a dear friend to me. I've made no claims to want Shinran for myself. I have been too busy trying to work out more important problems." Kayupa raised an eyebrow. "But its nice to know you have been using your time well, spying on the rest of us."

The Jedi Master made no comment. "And you know that your feelings are affecting him in a bad way."

"He can't focus when he feels that I am in pain, I am standing in his way. Keeping him from his true potential. I don't wanna feel this overwhelming hostility towards him anymore. This jealousy. I don't want to stand in his way, because I know, like you do, that he is important to us. He's the key to unlocking the Jentarana."

Bo-Hi titled his head. "Your _friendship _to him should matter more to you than his ability to unlock the Jentarana."

Kayupa knew that it did. "It does, but still my sense of duty keeps reminding me."

"Then set it aside."

Kayupa frowned. Did Master Bo-Hi really think he hadn't tried? "I can't."

Master Bo-Hi sat down next to him. "We've had problems and discussions about the Force before. You know that I don't agree with you on the Force being singularly. It is a gift we must use for the good of all beings."

Kayupa scoffed. "I come to you looking for counsel and instead you point my attention to another of my faults."

"I am trying to say that maybe this weakness you feel has nothing to do with the Jentarana. It could be a delayed effect of your…misuse of the Force."

Kayupa stared at him. "Misuse?"

"The brightest candle will always be the first to burn out."

Kayupa supposed there could be something to that theory, but it changed nothing. He still needed time away and alone to figure things out. "I can't use it as strongly as I have before. I need…solitude. To figure out where I'm going and where my life is supposed to be." Kayupa ran his fingers through his hair. "And I can't do that here."

"What?"

Kayupa's throat clogged. "Too many people, too many concerns, too much confusion."

"But you should see their companionship as a blessing, a gain, Kayupa."

Kayupa looked away, feeling only able to say the words when he didn't have to look anyone in the eyes. "I find that I can see a light at the end. Beneath my self indulgence. I can't find comfort here, but I may find peace within the emptiness."

The Jedi Master's eyes narrowed. "What emptiness?"

Kayupa took in a deep breath. "Of solitude, of isolation. I am willing to put myself through anything: pain or discomfort means nothing to me as long as that experience will take me to a new level. I have to search the unknown, I need time by myself. There are barriers I haven't learned to break. However painful it may prove, I feel I must do this." Kayupa looked over at his Master, he felt he had to look him in the eyes when he said, "Master, I resign from the Jedi."

Master Bo-Hi was on his feet in a second. "You _can't _leave!"

Kayupa rose from the bed and didn't allow any of his love for Bo-Hi to influence his decision. "I choose to take myself away from the Jedi so I can find out what it is I must do to conquer this longing. To help myself, and to help Skar complete his training. As long as I'm around, I'll be a distraction for him. I've thought it through and through, and its the only way that makes sense."

The silence in the room was so thick Kayupa felt like he could actually touch it. Several seconds went by, filled only with the static of the hologram projector. In the end it was Master Bo-Hi who broke the stare. Kayupa felt the grief in the old Jedi, it was so concentrated in failure that Kayupa felt like crying a second time. Bo-Hi had honored him by calling him son, and he did feel like he was abandoning a father.

As Master Bo-Hi sat back down on the foot end of the bed he looked like a gargoyle. A statue of a fallen angel. Bo-Hi started to cry and the tears ran down his yellow cheeks and over his scars.

"Then…I guess it doesn't matter what I say."

"Not really," Kayupa said as he sat down on the floor in front of his Master, looking up at him, at last feeling like the son that Bo-Hi saw in him. "I have to believe that there is a reward to reap for all this. Something to see me through to my path."

"And what if there isn't?"

Kayupa opened his hands. "There has to be. And if there hadn't been I certainly would've walked away completely by now." Kayupa wiped away the tears running down his cheeks. "I still may but for now this is only temporarily."

Bo-Hi looked down at his hands as if he'd sliced one of his own veins. "Such a fool I was to think, " he shivered and his hands started to shake, "that I could actually help you. When I'm really so far from being able to help you. I can't find a way to make you change your mind." The Jedi Master sunk deep into a shadow of his own despair. "I've failed with you as well."

Kayupa shook his head. "No. You can't see another path, because there is no way. I must do this alone. I have to cut away all bonds, sever all communication to this place. Break the umbilical."

Bo-Hi still just stared at nothing, his shoulders trembling with each sob.

Kayupa held onto Bo-Hi's shoulder. "I _will _return, I promise. If you need me, I will come. Focus on Skar, he's the key, not me."

The Jedi Master's head slowly came up and Kayupa had never seen such pain manifested in one look before. "I know you will find what you're looking for," the Jedi Master whispered in a grim voice, "because I've already seen it. Which is why I shall not look forward to your return."

* * *

Neither Kayupa nor Master Bo-Hi showed themselves after Shinran and him had made it back. Skar had waited anxiously for an explanation, and since Shinran didn't want to talk about it, he concentrated on other things. Hours had gone by, with still no sign of Kayupa or Master Bo-Hi, when Skar realized that he hadn't seen Master Bo-Hi since they'd arrived at the temple two and a half days ago. And now Kayupa had shut himself in as well. Shinran and him had dug into the supplies and managed to fix up food for themselves, yet they always wondered whether or not to prepare meals for Kayupa and Bo-Hi.

Starting to feel a little like the unappreciated house-servants, or like children being left home alone for the first time as Shinran called it, they both decided that enough was enough. Skar had marched through the temple, intending to go banging on Kayupa's door for an answer and a very good explanation as to what was going on.

On Kayupa's door was a note to Skar that told him to get dressed for training and be in the Duel Chamber the following morning.

Next morning Skar had donned his training outfit, before going to exercise with Kayupa in the Duel Chamber. Kayupa had let Skar know that he should be prepared for a rough time. Skar allowed himself to think that he was talking about training, yet his warning sense was tinkling.

The Duel Chamber was where lightsaber training would took place, where he would hone his skills with the deadly weapon. The domed ceiling was, like the main chamber, painted and carved with images of Jedi battles. All of them beautiful in detail and exceptional in craftsmanship. The chamber was the size of the Main Chamber, supported by stone girders and strong pillars. The floor's center was one step up, a giant circle surrounded by small candles, all aflame.

Skar whistled as he approached the meditating Kayupa. "This is impressive."

Kayupa's eyes flashed open, blinked and looked around. "Yes. I like it here too. A room that I find much comfort in."

Skar gestured to the ceiling. "What are those?"

Kayupa pulled his head back to look at the dome above his head. "The carvings are all of ancient Jedi-battles, or so Master told me. Some of them are even supposed to show the Clone Wars, but I'm not sure which. War fascinates me, so I like being here. Makes me centered."

Skar smiled to himself. "Yeah, you like being the center of things, don't you?"

Kayupa cocked his head. "From the center your actions expand in circles, in a never-ending sphere of influence. What other place holds so much power?"

Skar nodded, not sure he understood what Kayupa meant. "I thought a Jedi was supposed to end wars, not admire them."

Kayupa smiled. "A Jedi is a warrior, he can allow himself to study the tactics of the past to guide him in the future. Battle is more than just slaughter, Skar, its a tool to settle conflict. And that is a Jedi's role. To end conflict."

Skar caught himself understanding Kayupa's point and lifted his eyesight to look at the carvings. "Kayupa, how can you fight in a war, if you're trying to end it?"

Kayupa smiled and rose to his feet. "I don't know about that, I think you're getting into more detail than you're supposed to. I've seen many people die. But they were all soldiers or warriors. War is between the soldiers of either side, and those warriors protect the people, those who can't fight on their own. Power is only important as an instrument for service to the powerless. By fighting in a war, you're stopping the enemy from hurting those you love."

Skar believed in that. He didn't like the idea of killing, but his instincts told him that if anyone ever threatened the life of those close to him, hesitation wouldn't be a factor. "Do you think wars are generated by fate?"

Kayupa laughed. "Whoever said I believed in fate?"

Skar shrugged. "Do you?"

Kayupa thought about it. "I believe that there are some places in life our skills and talents are more suited than others. To actually say that my life is written in stone…" Kayupa shook his head. "If it really was, nothing I do would mean anything because it would already be planned ahead. I might as well kill myself."

"What's the fun in that?"

Kayupa shrugged this time. "What's the fun in living a life you didn't make for yourself?"

"Guess you're right."

Kayupa looked up at the ceiling. "Wars are not acts of fate. They are caused by people, by institutions made by people, by the way in which people have organized society. As such they can be changed. But we live in a world with so many cultures, so many different ideals that it's becoming increasingly impossible to find common ground." Kayupa looked back down at Skar. "I find no pleasure in taking lives. But it is something I found myself to be good at. On a battlefield there are no names; there is the weapon in your hand and there is survival on the other side of someone's death. The only way I can justify killing, is to admit that I thought I was better than those I vanquished."

Skar unclipped his own lightsaber from his belt, and gently beat it against his thigh in wonderment. "Is that what you believe in, Kayupa? Survival?"

Kayupa shook his head. "I don't know what I'm believe in right now."

"That takes heart to admit."

Kayupa's eyes seemed happier than usual. Whatever had happened in the last day, had clearly opened up some of the tension. "Yeah, well, I'm through hiding from myself. Which is why I've called you here."

"We're not going to train?"

Kayupa folded his hands behind his back. "I called you here to tell you what I've already told Bo-Hi; I'm leaving for a while."

Skar wanted to scream, though he already knew from Shinran that Kayupa might be leaving their group. He'd been able to shut it out, waiting for confirmation from Kayupa himself, but it still rattled his heart. "You can't leave now, you've just come back. I need you to train me. You can't go! I won't let you!"

Kayupa lowered his head. "Shinran must have told you about what happened with the monks. If you know that then you know why I must go. I can't stay here. I've stretched myself too far. My touch with the Force and my control is weakening even now. I become more and more fragile the more I stay."

"But Master Bo-Hi can help you?"

"No, he's at the root of the problem. I must come to terms with my own fears, my own worries, the worries you've seen. Its my choice, and I have to see it through. Without free will no choice ever made, no matter how successful, was worth anything."

Skar thought of Shinran, the passion Kayupa had shown for her. And he thought of the way Kayupa had been ever since he'd returned from the Jentarana. And he thought of the doubt sowed in Skar about Master Bo-Hi's intentions. It all bottled up into one choice; Kayupa was leaving so he could find out what to do about it. "I know why you feel that way, and its nonsense."

Kayupa stepped down to Skar and placed his hand on his shoulder. "If I stay, I will endanger the purpose we are fighting for. I will cloud your mind and keep you from the objective. Your destiny lies ahead, and I'm keeping you from it." Kayupa pulled Skar closer to him in a hug.

Skar was surprised at first, but once the awkwardness faded he felt the need in Kayupa to make this gesture. Skar hugged Kayupa tighter, and counted his blessings. How lucky he was to have a friend like Kayupa, how fortunate he had been to have the life he'd sought for so long.

In the end, there were only very few people that would understand what he was going through, and the one that understood best had to be Kayupa.

"I'm counting on you, Skar." Kayupa pushed himself out of the hug and unclipped his lightsaber from his belt. "I want you to keep this for me. Where I'm going I won't be needing it. And it will also be a sign to you."

Skar accepted the lightsaber. "A sign of what?"

Kayupa smirked. "That thing saved my life a thousand times. You can be damn sure I'll be coming back for it."

Skar smiled. "Okay."

"Listen to your own heart, Skar. That's all I can say to you." With that Kayupa walked past Skar and picked up a satchel by the entrance.

"Kayupa?"

Kayupa stopped and turned.

"Do you even know where you're going? How do you know it won't break you?"

Kayupa smiled sadly. "That's life. We don't know where we were going and we run the danger of being hurt, but that doesn't make us give up. Nothing said to us, nothing we can learn from others, reaches us so deep as that which we find in ourselves. The only thing I know for sure right now is that this is not goodbye."

With that Kayupa turned around and left Skar to himself in the Chamber. Skar stood alone in the chamber for a long time mourning the loss of his friend. Skar felt sorry to see Kayupa leave, but he wished his friend the best of luck in his journey, and found comfort in the weight of the second lightsaber on his belt. He wished Kayupa could have worked out his problems in the temple, together with Skar and the others, but it seemed Kayupa didn't mind being alone.

Then again, Skar realized, there were two sides of being alone. There was loneliness, the _pain _of being alone, and there was solitude, the _glory _of being alone. Skar knew Kayupa would think of his journey as glorious, while Skar was left with the painful part.

But he still cracked a smile. _There's no future in spending our present worrying about our past._

And it seemed the moment he felt Kayupa leave the temple, all clouds vanished from Skar's heart. He accepted Kayupa's departure and found cause for happiness in the fact that he knew Kayupa would be back.

Removing himself lessened Skar's list of worries, he no longer had to worry about Kayupa's conflicts and what it was doing to their unity. Clarity, like a sun appearing behind shifting clouds, appeared in regions of his mind that until then had been plagued with thunderstorms.

_I'm ready to become a Jedi.

* * *

_

Moments later, wanting to fill his time with something useful now that he wasn't going to train with Kayupa, Skar decided to for a quick jog. Events in the past month had sent Skar to a new level of maturity. Of strength. He had goals and he had a responsibility. During his time on Nar Shaddaa he had been given the gift of freedom, he had been free to do whatever, whenever, wherever.

But now, people relied on him to be punctual, to be fit, to be ready and to fulfill whatever task as best as he could. He had been used to a life with no work and no pressure. He didn't have any chores or any duties he had to fulfill back on Nar Shaddaa, so this was very new to him. And very scary.

Especially Master Bo-Hi had great trust in Skar being up for the task of training to be a Jedi. Skar knew Master Bo-Hi had his own reasons for being so hopeful about Skar's training, but Skar didn't think too much about the fact that Master Bo-Hi believed Skar to hold some key to his redemption. Skar didn't want it to influence his way at going about to train.

Skar took it calmly, one day at a time. He gathered up energy that would push himself further, harder and more effective.

Skar jogged through the dunes and took a few laps around the canyons. It was almost noon when he returned to the temple, sweat pouring off him and his breath shallow. He stopped in the Main Chamber, concentrated his breathing and slowed his heart-rate back down to normal. He splashed some water from a flask into his hair and let it run down his neck, further on down his back and splashed some on his throat and face. His breathing was down to normal, when Master Bo-Hi stepped into the chamber.

"Did you enjoy the run?"

Skar hadn't expected to see Master Bo-Hi for some time. With the departure of Kayupa he wouldn't blame the Master some time to mourn. "I thought you wanted to be alone?"

Master Bo-Hi folded his hands behind his back and stared walking towards Skar. "You have me mixed up with someone else."

It came as a surprise to find that Master Bo-Hi's words were a jab at Kayupa's decision. Skar doubted that Kayupa would have left if Master Bo-Hi had told him not to, and he believed that the Jedi Master had condoned partly to Kayupa's departure. Yet some negativity obviously remained.

Skar used his shirt to dry some of the sweat of his face and hands. "Yeah, the run was good. I need to be in shape, for the training. If I am gonna become a Kjoil Knight - "

"You only need to be ready here," he used his fist to symbolize the heart, "and here", he lifted the fist and pointed at his temple. "Heart and mind, the only things you need to control." Master Bo-Hi stepped over and crouched down beside him. "A Jedi, when meeting an obstacle, must face the task with his focus and his understanding, not his physical form. True, a Jedi must be able to complete the task, and having a good physical condition helps that, but the Force will always be there to help you, if you do not possess what the task requires."

Skar snickered. "So you're saying I might as well grow fat?"

Master Bo-Hi boomed with a loud laughter, one that was liberating a lot of tension in him. "No, of course not. I am saying running is good, but never fear that the Force will not be there to help you, making you faster, quicker, leaner, and ready for anything."

"Leaner?"

The Jedi Master smirked. "Well, maybe not leaner."

Skar smiled, looking down at his feet. "Okay."

Master Bo-Hi looked away. "I think you are ready for the training soon."

Skar nodded. "I think so too. I feel ready. I feel like I'm waiting. I'm not stressed, or anxious. I'm calmly letting things come as they come."

"Good philosophy."

Skar looked up. "Are you ready to take a new apprentice?"

Master Bo-Hi sighed. "That question has been my purpose of solitude these last days, to find if I am right to take a new so soon."

"What did you find out?"

"That the answer lies deep within another question." Master Bo-Hi looked at him. "You say you wish to follow the Jedi path. That you want to honor your heritage. I can only admire that, but it drives me into a stalemate. What do you hope to find in the Force for yourself?"

Skar ran his hand through his hair. "Kayupa once told me that he hated his parents, because they'd left him. He felt unloved, unwanted. I've had the same emotions. I grew up with a foster-parent. And when I was young I was never been able to avoid the thought that maybe my parents didn't love me. That they didn't want me. It was only when I was given the Holocron and I saw my mother's wishes, that I understood that they loved me very much, and that they'd been sacrificed to make me choose this path. Lwen had even given up his own life out of loyalty to my parents, so he could raise me. I _was_ loved. I was just too young and too blind to see it."

Master Bo-Hi nodded. "Understanding comes with age."

"Even though the feeling was wrong, I had it for many years, and it has left its mark. When I found out that I was a Jedi, it was reawakened. I thought I wasn't ready, that I couldn't do it. And even if I could, I would be alone. I was the only Jedi. And being the only one, I figured I couldn't do much difference. I didn't think I was really needed. That's what I want to find. That I am needed in this world, and that my time and my pain was all in vain. I wanna make a difference."

Master Bo-Hi held onto his shoulder. "The Force would not be with you if you were not needed. You were put on this path for a reason. You _are_ needed. You've only _heard_ of the terrors the Empire has done, you haven't seen it." Master Bo-Hi's voice became grim. "You haven't heard the screams, seen the bloodshed. Then you would know how much the Galaxy needs us."

Skar struggled to believe those words. "I'm just one guy."

"No, you are a part of something even bigger than the Empire, even bigger than this life. There's no goal you can't reach if you know how to reach for it. The only person you have to convince is yourself." Master Bo-Hi stood and bowed to Skar. "And you seem to quickly forget, that you are not alone and you are not just one person."

Skar smiled. "If you believe something to be real, it becomes real."

"Believing is the hard part."

Skar sighed. "I know."

Master Bo-Hi hugged himself carefully and opened his mouth to talk but nothing came out. He seemed hesitant, choosing his words with care. "And Skar," his voice almost a whisper, "I am one of those who need you. "

* * *

Feeling slightly more enthusiastic about his training, Skar retreated to his chamber, showered, dressed and got ready for his meeting with Shinran. Skar met up with Shinran in the Main Chamber and she led him down to the hangar that Skar suspected had originally housed the _Koniduz_. But scanning the room Skar realized it could house up to ten ships like the _Koniduz_. Something bigger had been stored here.

Playing on a hunch, Skar reached down to the floor and touched it. The metal surface was freezing under his touch but a warmth came from it; a warmth in the Force. Something familiar. No, not something.

Someone.

"My uncle has been here," he said without thinking.

Shinran stood by two swoops. She turned and looked at him funny. "Which one, the good or the bad?"

Skar rose. "The bad."

"Skind Kjoil?" she asked with a frown. "No way."

Skar licked his lips. "I know. It doesn't make sense."

"Are you sure its him?"

Skar reached out to the Force for answers. No memory of Skind Kjoil ever being on Nanh. Skar scratched his chin. Then he snapped his fingers in sudden understanding. "The Jentarana!"

She leaned up against the swoop. "What?"

"The Jentarana. Remember it was…" Skar kept his mouth shut. He remembered the Jentarana was equipped with Skind's mind. He'd built a Holocron that served as the Jentarana's moral guidance. It ensured that the weapon could never be used for evil. Like a moral compass. Skar waved her off. "Nothing."

She shrugged. "Master Bo-Hi and Kayupa were guarding it. Maybe you just feel him through it. It must have been stored here."

Skar nodded. "Yeah, that must be it." Not voicing the knowledge that his touch had not been of a thing, but of a person. It had not been the Jentarana he'd felt. It had been the man himself, Skind Kjoil.

Pushing the thought aside for later scrutiny, he walked over to her and examined the swoops. Swoops were small crafts, similar to speederbikes. Highly maneuverable, and often used as a racing vehicle. The swoop was basically an overpowered respulsorlift engine pod with handlebars. It had a pair of landing skids mounted on its bottom, and a control panel attached to the handlebars. Skar had seen rivaling gangs back on Nar Shaddaa using swoops.

Because of their speed the basic swoop offered no protection for the rider, and were capable of speeds in excess of 600 kilometers an hour. Skar also remembered contests back on Nar Shaddaa involving the swoops. Swoop racing involved negotiating a swoop through an obstacle course. The course consisted of five or more gravity obstacles which pushed or pulled the swoop away from the course. Often, the obstacles involved dangerous consequences for the racers. It was generally accepted that swoopchasing originated on the planet Omman, the brainchild of bored farmers.

Skar whistled. "Nice machinery."

Shinran straddled the seat and began activating the repulsor. The swoop groaned and the engine roared. Shinran manipulated the controls and the swoop swirled to point at him. She smiled over the handlebars. "Wanna go for a ride?"

Skar nodded. "You've ridden these things before?"

"My father once raced for money back on Nar Shaddaa. He taught me all about them. This is the first time I've sat on one."

Skar found there was no delicate way to ask his next question. "I thought you and your family were homeless?"

Shinran peered at him. "Like I said, it was for money."

Skar looked around. "Where are we going?"

Shinran smiled. "Its a surprise."

The hangar's ceiling cracked in the center in a fine line of bright light. Sunlight. The hangar doors slid apart and the dry air came washing in. Rivers of sand came washing down from the desert above them. The swoops lifted up over the hangar, sealing the doors behind them, and they flew south.

Skar was pounded back in his seat when the swoop first reached 200 kilometers per hour. He'd never flown one before, so he decided to start off slow and kept it at the 200 mark. Which wasn't necessarily anymore comforting. The speed was still immense and Skar held on to the handlebars, careful not to jug them even the slightest bit, since that would send him either flying to the clouds or buried in sand.

Either way, he'd be dead.

Beneath him flashed the sandy landscape faster than his eyes could pick out. The horizon seemed to be rushing to meet him but never moved. The vast sea of sand could only be admired if he looked out to the sides. Sand, dunes and canyons passed by, whooshing by like blasts. He spotted rock formations in the distance, high mountains reaching for the clear blue sky.

As they got further out, the rock formations took on a more deformed shapes. Some resembled hands and fingers reaching out of the sand to grab him and pull him down. One of them looked like a slain dragon fighting to stand, fighting to take one final breath and had then been frozen in time.

Skar flew under a cracked formation of a semicircle, each peak rising on each side of him and should have met over his head, if not the connection had cracked and was now buried in sand. Skar enjoyed the sensation of flying. Feeling the wind in his face, Skar spotted Shinran flying up ahead, dodging rock after rock. He reached out to her and felt her exhilaration in flying; one they shared.

They rode for most of the day, without a single break in speed, enjoying the euphoric feeling of freedom that speed offered them. It was bordering on nighttime when the surprise she had in store for him came up ahead. Shinran had taken him out to where the desert ended, where the continents was severed by sea.

And Skar saw an ocean for the first time.

They dismounted the swoops and strolled the last walk to the cliff. Something about the sight of the world at night from the cliff gnawed at him. It was almost as if he had seen it before somewhere. Yet he couldn't remember where. Skar looked down and saw the water pounding against rock outcroppings , the sound of it like thunder bellowing heavily in his ears. He watched Shinran stand at the very edge of the cliff and he wanted to run and pull her back to safety.

"So this is the surprise?"

She smiled. "Not only for you, but for me too. We've never seen an ocean."

Skar looked out at the horizon where the sun was setting. The clouds switched color and became yellow and purple even further off. The water reflected the glowing sun and took on its bright flaming color. Skar smiled. It really was beautiful.

Next to him Shinran hugged herself, a long lost look of contentment on her face. "I've always dreamt of a peaceful place like this."

Skar stood next to her and slid his arm around her shoulders. "It's hard to find peace inside yourself, but easy to find it around you."

She laid her head on his shoulder. "My father once said; if you ever read something about nature that is longer than a page, stop reading. Its wrong. Nature is never that complicated."

Skar laughed at the quote. "He was right," he rubbed at his ear. "The ocean's a little noisy though."

She smiled. "Its not noise, its the sound of nature. The sound of life, the sound of time passing by."

Skar admitted to himself that the sound of the waterfall became soothing after a while of listening to it. In fact it reminded him of the feeling he got when using the Force. A loud, immense storm contained in a small package.

Skar nodded. "I'm beginning to understand the value of some of life's simpler sides. You don't need money or items to value life, you just have to know what to look for." Skar gazed at the ocean. "My uncle must have felt this way about his home. That's why he was eager to protect it. It was more valuable to him than possession."

Shinran's face changed. "Skar, I understand your uncle's need for protection to his home, but a weapon could never be the right answer."

"Yeah, I know, but it wasn't a weapon."

She turned to him. "You can't create peace through deterrence or fear. Even if you only wish to use it in the service of good, all people will have different opinions of what is right and what is wrong. What your uncle made _was _an instrument of fear, and it would eventually bring persecution to all those he loved. He set himself out to be strong and to make others cover in fear over what he had made."

Surprisingly to himself, Skar felt attacked. And by the one person he never would expected it from. "What are you trying to say - "

"Don't you see?" She held out her hand. "He didn't accept the differences between everyone in this Galaxy so he made something that he was sure could terrify them all." She turned back to the ocean. "True freedom… cannot exist under a government, in a world filled with guns."

Skar shrugged. "Then why isn't the world like that?"

"Because we are not capable of doing it," she said with a touch of bitterness to her voice. "We can't maintain it, and there are those who would exploit it. Anarchy is _an _answer but it may not be _the _answer. It could destroy more than it would save. We have to make the best of this world, filled with hate and laws."

"Well…what more do you want?"

She sighed. "I don't know. Someone to care."

Skar felt sorry for her. Her confusion and frustration over her own life and the world she lived in was killing her and as long as she focused on them she would never be content. Skar was ashamed that he'd not seen that it had grown so intense inside her. He'd been too busy preparing to train as a Jedi to notice it. In some way he thought this was her way of reaching out to him, her way of telling him how he felt.

Skar stepped up behind her and put his hand on her lower back. "I'm here. I care."

She glanced at him. "Do you?" Shinran opened her hands. "What are you doing here on Nanh?"

Skar took a quick glance at the sea and then back at her. "I think…I _hope _I'm making a difference."

"What have you learned? Have you found meaning?"

"I've found some. As a Jedi I'm needed. I have a responsibility."

She snorted. "I may be wrong but I'm starting to think you're in this for personal glory, not the honorable cause. I think you're doing this for yourself, and not for others. This is something you have to prove to yourself, and not anyone else, right?"

Parts of him wanted to turn his back on her and walk away, but the remaining parts of him would never leave her so. Skar peered inside himself and looked for the answer to his thoughts. To find the question that was so important and so obvious that he didn't even think about it. _I don't know who I am. What I'm capable of, what I can do. I don't know why I'm living. I'm pursuing the Jedi faith but am I just doing it to honor my family? Am I so soulless that I'll become a Jedi just to become a Jedi? _

_No. I'm not._

_I want to become a Jedi so I can understand my purpose in life, my own purpose, so I can understand where I'm going and where I am._

Skar nodded. "Yes. That comes first. Later I'll use what I've learned to help others."

"And what about the Jentarana? How big a part does it play in your future?"

Skar walked over to her and took her cold hand into his. "Right now, it doesn't exist. The Jentarana will have to come some place longer down that road when I'm really to deal with it. Right now there's training to be done. I could choose right now what path my life is going to take, but fulfilling my training would leave me with better options. You've got the wrong impression about me. I _do _care about the world, but I am not in a position to change anything. Yet."

She looked genuinely surprised. "Do you mean that?"

"That's how I feel."

Skar thought he saw a slight color change in her cheeks, a blush. "I'm…sorry."

Skar nodded, accepting her apology. Turning to face the ocean, he clasped his hands behind his back. "One more thing. I _will _prove you wrong."

She looked confused. "About what?"

"By becoming a Jedi. I will show you a weapon that is made to create peace." Skar smiled to the fading sunset. "Me."

* * *

They spent the evening on the cliff, sharing, talking and even some meditating. It had been Skar's idea she tried to meditate, believing it might help her. He had sometimes found meditation to be of great inspiration, although he hadn't learned to link it with the Force yet. He had not learned to use meditation as a means of seeing the world around him. All he had were glimpses that never revealed enough, and revitalization did not require meditation. Shinran had brought a mat for them to sit on, they'd been sitting on the cliff for hours now, trying playfully to connect their minds. Shinran meditated in her own way, with some guidelines from Skar. Though he kept insisting that too many guidelines would ruin would meditation was really all about.

Skar sought his way back to consciousness and as one, they opened their eyes, smiling to each other. Her beautiful face shone in the light of the rising moon.

"Do you feel better?" he asked.

"I feel a lot better."

She leaned forward, resting her forehead on his shoulder. That simple gesture igniting a million thoughts and sensations inside him. The strongest being the feeling of unity. Skar had found a great ally in Shinran, and a friend. With Kayupa gone, they both missed him and that kept them together. He knew Shinran missed him as much he did, but he chose to forget about Kayupa for now and did what the Force demanded of him. Kayupa was on his own by his own choice to regain himself. Skar had no idea on what to do to build a connection with Kayupa again but he decided it would have to wait.

"What's wrong, Skar?" she asked.

He leaned his head against hers, talking into her ear. "I was thinking about Kayupa."

"Do you think he'll be back?"

Skar sighed. He hoped so. He _believed _so, but it was not really up to him. "Maybe. When he's done fighting. Done fighting the Dark Side."

"The way he's been lately…I guess it was only a matter of time."

Skar nodded. "Yeah, he wasn't really…there anymore. He was too occupied with his own emotions. Now he doesn't feel that he can even trust Master Bo-Hi. He said he didn't know what he was fighting for anymore."

"That's bad in a Jedi. But I think he would have been better off staying with us. He's just like the rest of us now, trying to find himself."

"Kayupa doesn't like groups. He's solitary, untamed. He's too proud to let others help him."

She snickered. "Master Bo-Hi said that too."

Skar thought about Master Bo-Hi instead and his training. "With Kayupa gone, Bo-Hi can take me as his apprentice."

"Do you think he will?"

"I hope."

"Master Bo-Hi has a lot of admiration for you, perhaps even fear. I don't doubt he'd like you to be his apprentice. But I think he's worried about your future."

Skar felt her breath on his throat. "He wants the Jentarana. And he thinks I can get him the key. If he wants it, he'll have to train me."

"Can you get him the key?"

Skar suddenly felt very fragile. "I think…the key…" Skar sighed and looked away. "The key is not important now."

"Power is very unstable," she said, "just like control. I doubt anyone, even your uncle, was fit to be in control of it."

Skar doubted that too. "Remember how Master Bo-Hi talked about the Old Republic and how he'd left the Jedi behind? And the failure with the student from the monks. He's seen a lot of hard choices, and a lot of defeat. A lot of anguish. Sometimes I feel a desperateness in him, to redeem himself. And using the Jentarana to strike a blow at the Empire is one way of doing that."

"Skar, he's a Jedi Master. He knows right from wrong."

"He's a Jedi Master." Skar nodded. "But he's also ashamed."

Shinran wiped a stand of hair from her eyes and pressed herself in tighter to Skar. He adjusted himself so they would sit more comfortably, their thighs touching. She looked up into his eyes, and Skar fell beyond her green eyes into the greater beauty she kept inside.

She shifted in his hands. "You know, Master Bo-Hi taught me a little about the Jedi. They teach each other the skills that are necessary in order for the Force and the Jedi to continue their evolution. When one decides to join the group than the success of the one depends upon the success of the group." She took his hand and smiled to him. "But you are here to find _yourself_, Skar. You are not here to be part of a unit. You use it for selfish reasons. Master Bo-Hi himself said you were here for personal reasons."

Skar saw her point, she was right. But the way he saw it, at this point there was no unit to be a part of, they were Jedi and they were a unit.

But not a Jedi-unit.

His training would take them there, but not yet. The Force was more to him than a religion, it had become his most loyal asset and he was aching to learn more. But he was still far from being able to use his powers for good. He had a lot to learn about himself first.

Skar held her hand in his. "What is it you're trying to say? You think I'll leave you behind when I'm done?"

Her cheeks blushed slightly. "I don't know. Maybe. Maybe you'll just continue on your own little quest?"

Skar shook his head, but slowly. Their faces were so close their noses might bump into each other. "No, my quest ends here, on this planet. Here I'll find my identity as a Kjoil. I came here hoping to earn powers that would help me bring justice to where it was needed, and find out what my purpose in life is." He took a second to gather his thoughts. "Coming here, I wasn't only looking for myself, but also to know who my family was and I have learned much about their history. I've never felt their love directly, but they went into a lot of effort to insure I became a Jedi. All this information they've gathered, the plan they laid out to make sure I was safe. That love was new to me. And now for the first time, thanks to them and thanks to you and Bo-Hi, I feel at home, I feel like I belong here. All my life I've wanted to feel this way and now I do. I fit here. I achieve more goals here each day than I've ever done before." He squeezed her hand. "We're a family now, Shinran. None of us will ever be alone again."

"I hope not," she said and slowly turned around herself and laid her head in his lap, at first it was awkward and unusual for him but he understood the intimacy and he didn't want to ruin that. He held onto and massaged her shoulders. He smiled, knowing there was no hard feelings between them. No hard feelings at all. Just intimacy.

"And to reassure you, I would never leave someone behind if I felt they needed me. That is also the task of a Jedi."

She smiled up into his face. "That's nice to know."

"There are not a lot of people out there who wouldn't understand people like you and me. But at least we have each other." He looked up and looked over the ocean. "You must trust me, Shinran. The key to any alliance is trust. We must believe we're working towards one common goal. An alliance cannot survive with division." Saying the words, Skar couldn't help but think of Kayupa. He'd diverted. And left out of their alliance. He'd out his own needs in front of theirs.

She stared up into his face. "Are you suggesting we form an alliance?"

He laughed slightly. "I think you could call our friendship an alliance."

Abruptly she rose from his lap and bent down in her knees before him, putting her face across from his. Coming as a complete shock to him, her lips pushed forward and gently kissed his for just a brief second. Skar felt like a small boy again at first, since it was the first time he had kissed a woman. His face warmed and he felt younger than he was. His mind raced with hope that she couldn't feel his nervousness and inexperience in kissing. For the first time he was glad she wasn't in touch with the Force so she couldn't sense his awkwardness. But she really only needed to look at his body language to know that he was not used to it.

He moved his hand around her neck to pull her a little closer. For a second he felt her tongue and he hurried to move his own tongue so they would touch again, but she pulled back fast and the kiss ended.

Skar moved forward to kiss her again but she pulled herself back ever so slightly when he tried, with a delightful teasing smile on her face.

She gently ran a finger down his lips and chin. "Our alliance is strong, Skar Kjoil."

* * *

Sasori Dragus beheld his latest terror.

After six months of nonstop working and studying, after blood, sweat, tears brought on by hard work, after so many payrolls he didn't even want to think about them, happy knowing he wasn't the one paying the work crew. After hundreds of some of the Galaxy's best slicers trying, after even trying to use explosives, after typing in at least ten million different combinations. After his near mental breakdown. After his mornings of waking up with a fresh idea, only to watch it fail.

After hundreds of threats and insinuations from Raydoen, they had finally been able to find the right access code.

It had happened an hour ago, while he was sleeping. The men had come get him, and dragged him down so he could supervise. Raydoen wasn't around, for which Sasori was very thankful. The men had been inside the ship now, and were sweeping it for bombs or traps set by the Jedi Knight, but fortunately came up empty.

Sasori lounged in a chair on a platform from which he could see the entire hangar that held the craft they were examining. A cup of caf in jittery hands, he supervised the process with only half of his capacity. He wanted more than anything to go back to sleep, but he knew he wouldn't be able to if he tried.

They were finally making progress, whatever happened within the next handful of hours could decide many things; mostly financial issues. And a part of him enjoyed watching over the crew as they worked to find his answers. There was a certain air of duty and loyalty in the air, and the unity with which the team worked showed him how well he had chosen them. These men were a rare breed; the kind that enjoyed to work.

Sasori was never that hands-on, at least never with something this big. It would take him weeks to go over the craft to find the information he needed. His best crew along with Dr. Oteyu had done all of the examinations. He was a designer first and foremost. His heart belonged to the very early birth of weapons or equipment, the designing process. Physical labor had never given him the same pleasure as a simple pen and a sheet of paper. It had never bothered him, at least not yet, to know that he designed things that killed others.

War was a side affect of his passion for creating and one he had learned to accept. He didn't fear combat or fighting. He had never seen a war, but he had studied information on battle tactics from the Holonet as well as from professional hunters. He was a weapons man, but only in the planning areas. He had studied many battles and many wars, worked out strategies that would enable victory with the lowest amount of cash-flow or victims. In the end war was just politics with bloodshed. And vice versa without bloodshed.

Dr. Oteyu, Raydoen's personal scientist, flown in from Raydoen's castle on Pathfort, came slowly up the stairs to where Sasori sat lounged in a chair on a platform above the workstation.

Dr. Oteyu was a man old enough to remember the Clone Wars, the kind of living relic that belonged in a museum, old as time itself. Kept alive only by stimulus and spice. Bushy white brows stood out on the surface of a face dominated by wrinkles. Perfect white hair was combed back behind his ears, light glinting off the bald spot on top of his head. His wide eyes, it seemed they were always peeled, looked at Sasori and bowed his head slightly.

Dr. Oteyu was big back on Pathfort but around here he answered to Sasori whenever Raydoen was not around. Sasori was not the kind of man to take pleasure with being in command, but seeing the weasel bow his head gave him some joy.

Sasori sipped his hot caf. "What did you find?"

Dr. Oteyu consulted his datapad. Since their breach everything had been carefully analyzed and written down for Sasori's scrutiny. "No bombs, no detectors, no sensors." Dr. Oteyu had the kind mellow voice of a favorite uncle, but venom still seeped through his calculations. "We've breached the outer hull and we've found your weapon."

"Good." Sasori said casually, barely hiding the excitement creeping up his spine like a snake. "Then what is it?"

Sasori was embarrassed to know that all their hard work and labor on this project was surrounding something they didn't even know what was. Raydoen knew, but he liked his little secrets. Raydoen was an intellectual man who liked to study, and that was how he had been able to piece the puzzle together. He had only let them know that whatever man-hour or work they put into it, whatever it may have cost, it would be worth it. Sasori was in no position to question that thought. Nor did he dare.

Dr. Oteyu coughed. "The outer shell and its separate cockpit serves as a dropship for the main weapon. The main weapon runs along the hull and fills most of the interior."

Sasori looked up at the huge ship. It was at least a hundred meters in length and fifty meters in width. The weapon itself must've been huge. "What can you say about the weapon?"

Dr. Oteyu put away his datapad. "Its not a superlaser as you predicted. Not a copy or an old prototype of the Death Star neither -"

"Stop telling me what it isn't and tell me what it is," Sasori had not gotten up in the middle of the night to hear his own ideas be shot down. He wanted answers, answers Raydoen had been keeping from him. He wanted to know what all the fuss had been about.

Dr. Oteyu frowned. "Its a manned vehicle. Only one operator. Bipedal."

Sasori's brows lifted. "A walker?"

"No, far too huge for that. It has a strong repulsorlift. The strongest I've seen on something this big. Situated on its tail -"

"Tail?" Sasori asked.

Dr. Oteyu nodded. "The design is based on some kind of animal. Two legs, two arms, a head and a tail. The main-drive and thrust-unit is in the tail."

Sasori found this information odd. He had designed hundreds of weapons, even some walker variations, but he had never consciously based his work on any living creature. But it sounded interesting and he had a feeling it might influence the way he looked at designing. "And it can fly?"

"Yes, but not in space. That's why the dropship is there. To drop it and pick it up again."

Sasori sipped his caf, the details logged into his mind. "Do you know what it is?"

Dr. Oteyu nodded, a hint of a sly smile on his chapped lips. "Master Raydoen was right. We found a symbol on the right arm that confirms it." The doctor's eyes grew narrow and he looked very pleased with himself. Even his grim voice betrayed his excitement. "It is the Jentarana. It was an ancient weapon created by the Old Republic. Created for peace and justice. The Jedi made this weapon to protect a planet. Its a defense program."

Sasori was shocked. "The Jedi created it?"

"Yes."

"What else can you tell me?" Sasori sipped from his cup again.

Dr. Oteyu scratched his bald head. "Bad news, actually. The cockpit has no controls."

Sasori nearly choked on the caf. "What?"

"The cockpit is without controls."

Putting his cup aside Sasori got out of his chair and stared at the ship. "How the Sith do we operate it, then?"

Dr. Oteyu sounded unconcerned. "Raydoen suspected this. He knows the way."

Sasori turned to him. "How?"

The doctor's eyes would not meet his. "Master Raydoen wants his secrets to remain secrets."

Anger clawed at his heart. "But he's giving me nothing to work with. We're wasting time, Doctor. This weapon is already paid for. And the buyer wants it operational. Trust me, he doesn't want to display it on some gigantic mantle." Sasori looked back at the weapon. "We're dealing with some dangerous people, Doctor. You don't toy with these people."

Dr. Oteyu nodded. "I understand. But Master Raydoen gave me strict commands - "

Sasori sighed and leaned against the railing. "So you're _not _going to work with me?"

The doctor shook his head. "We wait."

Sasori felt his anger grow. Clutching to his temper, begging for release. But his reason told him it would accomplish nothing. In the end he swallowed his pride. "Fine, let him run this however he wants." He turned and walked for the stairs. "If anybody needs me I'll be in my chamber."

Sasori took one last look at the ship before he left the hangar. The Jentarana, Dr. Oteyu had called it.

Sasori's departure from the hangar had little to do with his anger, and more to do with him wanting to research this weapon, now that he had a name for it, he figured the rest couldn't be too difficult. He'd get the answers his own way. Raydoen's way was too slow, and Sasori began to suspect the slow progress was somehow all a part of Raydoen's plan.

_Death abandons no one._

Sasori knew that if he started to research this Jentarana on his own, it wouldn't be long before Raydoen found out. Then there'd be trouble. Though him and Raydoen were working together, the vampire alien always left him with his heart beating and a sigh of relief. Raydoen was a psychopath at best, which made him impossible to work with. He kept secrets even from the people he expected to please him.

Sasori was fortunate enough that Raydoen was never present to supervise the work effort, but whenever he deemed it fit to show himself on Nar Shaddaa, Sasori always felt that old fear creep back into him.

But even with the fear of a repercussion from Raydoen, the thought of this new project had seized Sasori with a will of its own. The Jentarana, a bipedal walker. No, bigger than a walker. Capable of in-planet liftoffs. It gnawed at Sasori that he didn't know what kinds of weapons it was equipped with. So far it didn't sound too impressive and he was a little disappointed. He'd imagined something greater than this. At least something with enough fire-power to take on battleships. But this one was bound for surface-battle.

Sasori smiled as the ingenuity in him came to life, making him feel like a giddy schoolboy.

He could _reconstruct _it so it could fly in space. Shouldn't be that difficult. Hyperspace capability wasn't necessary as long as it had its dropship. He did however recognize that the dropship was a weakness more than anything else. If the dropship was destroyed the Jentarana would be trapped where it was.

Walking down the corridors of his storage facility, oblivious to the men that passed and saluted him, Sasori began drawing the design in his head from what he'd heard from the good doctor. Fitting in extra mechanisms where they needed it. Built like an animal, tail and all, and he knew that with his modifications it would truly be a horrifying monster to view.

No controls.

Sasori waved that little setback off. Finding it hard to do so Sasori decided to trust that Raydoen actually knew how to control it, as he'd claimed to Dr. Oteyu.

_He better_, Sasori thought. _Time is running out. _He'd heard rumors about a new Death Star being built at Endor. The Empire was getting ready to wreck havoc. With the Death Star the Empire wouldn't need the Jentarana after all. But if the Rebels knew, they could surely use it.

_Its still not designed for space. But if it can be modified for space, and if it can take on a Death Star, then the Rebels can't resist._

He promised himself as soon as he learned if the Jentarana could stand up to a Death Star he'd think about contacting the Rebels. War was such a dirty game. And Raydoen wasn't the only one who knew how to master it.

* * *


	4. Reunion

_**Nanh - Two Years Later.**_

The years had gone by fast. His training had demanded all the attention he had to offer, and the days flowed endlessly onto each other. Skar had no time for leisure, nor did he feel he needed any. This was the life he had chosen, and through it he would achieve a future filled with many open paths. It would have been wrong and shameful of him to complain about the workload, when this was all he had ever dreamed and hoped for.

Skar pushed himself into levels of strength and stamina he never knew he possessed. Other than building him up physically, it sharpened his mind. He'd lost some weight, but what he'd lost he'd gained in muscle. In the beginning of his time on Nanh, he'd taken up jogging in the early hours of the morning, and those sessions were still active, only each day he would run a little further. Each day he would set new bars for himself to reach, continuously striving and pushing himself further. What had once seemed impossible, was now effortless.

Skar was a Jedi, now more than ever. The Force was at his use and it came to him with greater ease through his intensive training. He'd reached the full potential of his legacy. He had confidence, strength and no fear. He was a Jedi, and he was also Kjoil, master of his own destiny and his own life.

Though the purpose of that life still eluded him. Through his training he had learned different ways of perceiving and understanding life, but it had never shown him a clear cut path that had felt right to him. As a Kjoil he was not bound by the codex of the Jedi. He would be free to follow his own feelings, the way his family had. The Kjoil were not limited to a life in the service of good, they could choose their own goals, good or bad without fearing the consequences of the Dark Side.

Emotional traps like anger, fear and hate, that were the greatest enemies of the Jedi, were no threat to the Kjoil. They were free in ways Jedi could never be. Stronger, faster and unbound to the Force and its choices. It seemed silly and rather ridiculous to him that with so many open paths, he could not find one that felt right. Skar let out a breath of air and decided to concentrate on the matter at hand. It was always important to keep one's focus on the current surroundings.

Now was certainly no different so Skar continued to climb up the face of the six hundred meter high bluff. He'd already passed the halfway mark, and he could spot the roof of the bluff above his hands, hiding somewhere behind the glare of the sun.

It was during one of his hike's that he had become bored with running. He'd looked around for a challenge and found nothing. It was not until he had looked up that he found what he had been looking for. He knew most professional mountain climbers used all kinds of tools and gears, but he felt that with his abilities he should be able to do it without them.

It wasn't easy, but certainly not impossible. Once he'd climbed the first tenth of the way, he really had no choice but to continue on.

Climbing up a mountain was hard, but climbing down a mountain, without rope or tools, was straight forward suicide.

His thoughts drifted back to Master Bo-Hi, whose dream it was to one day join the Rebellion and eventually become the founders of a new Jedi Order. But it was Bo-Hi's dream, not his. His visions were much simpler, and he found that although he wanted to help people, it didn't mean he wanted to devote his entire life to that service. His uncle had been a protector of the Old Republic and he had been less than thrilled by the assignment.

He also knew that the dream and vision that Master Bo-Hi had came from a Force that was telling him to use his powers in the service of protection. The Force that spoke to Skar didn't tell him what it wanted from him, instead it asked _him _what he wanted. He wasn't too sure he wouldn't prefer it the other way around.

He reached up to a ledge and pulled himself up, sweating. The sun baked above putting a shine over the sand half a kilometer below him, as well as heating the side of the bluff causing him to constantly shift his grip. Skar clutched himself to the side of bluff and closed his eyes.

At times he would stop and say to himself, _look, you're twenty-three, no one's expecting you to have your whole life figured out by now. Part of life is learning along the way. Many people change during the course of their lives. The only reason you're worrying about it so much, is because you feel inactive. A time will come when all your work will be revealed worthwhile._

Sometimes he didn't talk loud enough. At those times he felt like Kayupa, like a man always doubting himself and trying to find his niche in the Galaxy. What Kayupa had never learned and what Skar was beginning to understand was that your niche in the world was never stabile. It was shifting and it was frequently hard to keep track of where it was headed.

He took three long in-and-out breaths, keeping his attention on each breath that he took in. Observing breath as it went in and out, he noticed whether it was comfortable or obstructed. It was the former, though he wouldn't describe anything about his situation as comfortable. Skar felt it flowing freely through his lungs, comfortably. As soon as he found that breathing felt comfortable, he allowed the comfortable sensation spread to the different parts of his body.

At one point during the last two years Skar had believed that to find his future as a Kjoil he would have to dedicate himself fully to the Kjoil traditions. He learned two important things from this experience; One was that red hot needles hurt like hell, and two was that people with tattoos always looked cool afterwards, _never_ during the actual process.

However Skar felt his new tattoos were extraordinary enough that the pain was worth it. The red tattoos covered the surface of his hands and continued out around the fingers in an intricate pattern of lines that most people would not know was really the language of his native planet Ka'ckak. From his hands they snaked their way up his wrists and circled around it three times before proceeding up his upper arms in jagged edges, the edges themselves resembling flames, all the way to his shoulders where they dropped down behind his neck and joined.

He liked them very much, but they did not produce the kind of connection he had hoped for. He had intended to use them as a reminder of his purpose but since no purpose or clearer concept of the future had come out of his self-mutilation, he decided to have them symbolize his commitment instead. A tattoo was forever, equal to the commitment of the Kjoil.

Skar inhaled and let the air move all the way down to his intestines. Immediately he felt a greatly improved sense of well-being. Thanking Master Bo-Hi mentally for teaching him this technique, a branch of meditation, in his mind, he spread his awareness, his sense of conscious feeling throughout his entire body. Flowing comfortably, he felt the improving energy already existing in his body, clarifying his thoughts and knowledge already within him.

Skar opened his eyes and again climbed on with this newfound energy. Reaching the last ledge he threw himself up on the peak and landed gently. Skar stretched himself and gazed out over the Canyon of Strength, letting out a heavy breath of air.

_Suits its name rather well. _

It seemed like a great place to sit and think about important stuff, from up here every problem looked small in comparison. The feeling of victory rushed through his heart and coaxed a smile from his lips. After two years doing intensive training to become a Kjoil, Skar decided he deserved some time alone, to ponder further on what possibilities he would choose in the future.

But it seemed the possibilities were already waiting for him on top of the bluff. Skar turned and looked at the man. He looked the same, still the same long brown hair and the dirty bandana around his forehead. He wasn't wearing the familiar Jedi cloak, but rather a robe Skar guessed he'd snagged from the monks of the Perfection somewhere. He had no doubt spent time with them in his solitude.

Both of them sported the same old gritty beard, Skar's however was not by choice, his hike had lasted about a week and he'd found the older he got the faster his facial hair grew.

Skar grinned, shook his head slowly. "You were always faster than me."

Kayupa's smug smile had not lost its charm over the years. "I always will be."

They hugged cheerfully and clapped each other on the back. Both of them were happy to be in the company of the other. It had been over two years since Skar had seen or heard from Kayupa last, and the last time he'd heard from him, he'd launched Skar into his destiny, helped him find the path his life was to take. Kayupa was the fundament from which Skar had grown into the man he was today, his vector, his catalyst. Kayupa had been an idol to him and Skar had longed to be just like him. So instead of being afraid to go for it, Kayupa had made him desire it.

Skar reached up and touched his own bandana, the one Kayupa had given to him years ago, feeling slightly like he was looking at a mirror. They both wore bandanas, the same unkempt beard, untidy long brown hair, stained clothes, and a tan that could only come from spending way too much time in the sun.

And they both couldn't stop smiling.

"This isn't a dream, is it?" Skar asked carefully. "You're really here?"

Kayupa laughed, the sound of which reminded Skar of when he'd first met him. "Don't make me smack you, kid!"

Skar noticed one detail had changed. "New lightsaber?"

Kayupa unclipped his newly created lightsaber from his belt and held it out for Skar to inspect. "A sign of my new self. A better version of the one I had before. A new part of me."

Skar understood what he meant and held up his hands so Kayupa could see the red tattoos running up his arms; like Kayupa's lightsaber, they represented a new side of him.

"That looks like it had to hurt?"

Skar chuckled. "I imagine being spitted on a lightsaber is less painful."

Kayupa nodded. "So, are you a Jedi yet?"

Skar raised his chin and shook his head a few times. "I'll never be a real Jedi. I'm a Kjoil."

Kayupa raised an eyebrow. "You know the difference?"

Skar nodded. "A Jedi lives his life a servant of the Force, he follows its will and protects those in need. A Kjoil, he lives his life a free man, he follows his own will, and acts to protect those he loves."

Kayupa smiled. "That's perfect, Skar."

Skar was grateful for the compliment, but he found himself in unfamiliar territory. Kayupa was his former idol, but now they were on equal grounds. Skar felt too old to have an idol, he'd done so many things without Kayupa's help. He didn't resent Kayupa for his departure but he couldn't deny his feelings had changed.

Skar crossed the peak and put his back to Kayupa. "The ways of the Force are all open to me, Kayupa. I'm in its touch, faster than I would have thought."

Kayupa nodded. "The Kjoil in you. Your powers needed only to be awakened, now they are."

Skar knew that was true. "They are."

"And you know your destiny?"

Skar turned around to face him. "No, not yet."

Kayupa looked like he anticipated that answer. "That's because its not here. Its not on Nanh."

Skar didn't understand what Kayupa was getting at. "Then where is it?"

Kayupa looked up into the sun. "Back home. Back where we began. Nar Shaddaa."

The name struck him like a physical blow. "Nar Shaddaa?"

Kayupa pocketed his hands, as if a sudden chill had reached him. "Wide eyed Bo-Hi never mentions that place anymore, does he. Other than in his prayers."

Skar held out his hands. "We haven't talked about the Jentarana since you left. And to be honest I haven't even thought about it."

Kayupa's eyes narrowed as he stared out at the world around them. "My search through my self has revealed many things to me. I am not going to return to the Jedi Order, if there is such a thing. I am solitary now. That is the way my life must be."

"Why?"

"Because where I'm going I can't be tied up in personal emotions to others. There is only the goal. One I may or may not accomplish but one I must still pursue." Kayupa turned his head. "To find the Jentarana and destroy it," he said with determination. "Its presence is a burden to us all. I know the Jedi can't manage that sort of power nor can anyone else. No one should have it."

Skar agreed with that sentiment. "What about Master Bo-Hi?"

"He can't manage it. He should stick to his apprentices. Those are his real strength." Kayupa sighed. "I fear what might happen if he was to have the Jentarana. Could he stay on the path of the right or would he be tempted?"

Skar nodded. "I fear the same thing."

"Then we must work together. You must come with me to Nar Shaddaa."

* * *

Hours went by and they exchanged memories of their friendship and bond, some happy, some sad. Skar couldn't read Kayupa's emotions as well as he could in the past. The Jedi's trip of solitude had created a barrier around his mind that no others could penetrate. He'd had solitude not only on the outside but now also on the inside. He was free from other people roaming his thoughts. Though it may have concerned him, Skar was also happy that the Jedi had found some much needed strength in his absence.

In some ways Skar felt jealous of Kayupa. He was free in all the ways that Skar had longed to be, and still did. Free from desire, free from longing, free of responsibility. Just being in life. Open to all its choices and free to pick whichever he wanted. He felt like an asset waiting to be utilized. Like a gun ready to be aimed at something, though his pacifistic nature would have that gun set for stun rather than kill.

Skar looked down at his hands seeing the scars on both of them. The memory still lingered in each of them. The memory of joining the Force, and the memory of losing Lwen.

Some happy, some sad.

Kayupa looked off into the sun, the light breeze snapping at his robe. "I came here looking for the friend I had two years ago. Is he dead?"

Guilt weighed heavily on Skar's shoulders. Almost topping him over. "No, he's still around. But he has changed too. He sees his own life clearly and sees the danger of rushing off."

Kayupa looked disappointed. "You're the only one who can figure out the key to it. I can't do it without you, Skar."

"And you won't have to. I will help you, but I won't jeopardize my training."

Kayupa seemed to understand. "You've matured a lot. That's good. You have learned much of the Jedi ways."

"Yes."

Kayupa seemed to be building up to a point. "You know how a Jedi manipulates the Force, how he pulls on its energy. You've seen with your own eyes the power and splendor that a Jedi can produce."

Skar wasn't sure where this was leading. "Yes."

"But you are not a Jedi," Kayupa cast him a sidelong glance.

Skar's mind almost collapsed in on itself. "What are you saying?"

"You are a Kjoil. Whatever Master Bo-Hi has taught you, it is simple tricks compared to the true power inside you. He cannot teach you the Kjoil training you need. You must seek this yourself. He cannot help you. Use his teachings, but do not doubt; everything he teaches you will always be a mere shadow of what you can really do. The Force is with you, Skar. Stronger than it will ever be with him."

Skar knew that and he had more than once toyed with the notion that his genetic heritage, his soul, his spirit and its connection with the Force could make him a more powerful acolyte than even Master Bo-Hi or Kayupa. He was their ace in the hole, the strongest card they had to deal in this game.

But perhaps in time, if he willed it so, they would answer to him. He would become a strong Jedi and perhaps someday the whole world would know his name. And they would cheer him as a hero. And maybe, just maybe, Shinran and him would follow up on that kiss.

There had be no continuation of the kiss since that night two years ago out by the sea. Skar thought that maybe Master Bo-Hi would have called it a bad influence on his training to begin a romantic relation with Shinran, but since no more had followed it never really became an issue. All Skar was left with from the kiss was a memory savored in his mind of those few seconds when his and Shinran's lips had met and they'd shared a truly passionate moment.

It was something that just seemed right between them and it had been conceived with the full investment of their hearts. He tried not to think that the reason none of them had followed up on the kiss could be because Shinran had been disappointed with the kiss.

"Whatever lies dormant in my soul," Skar said slowly, "will be _your _strength as well. But you must wait. I can't afford to lose my progress now. The Jentarana isn't going anywhere. If you trust me as your friend, you will trust my judgement too."

Kayupa sighed. "Then I must wait."

Skar looked at him, saw the hard concentrated look on his face, the hurt sour look of his eyes and the tight jaw. Skar stepped forward. "I wouldn't let you do this on your own, now would I? What kind of friend would I be then? We are Jedi, we stand together. You are my friend and I want you nearby."

Kayupa almost blushed, definitely unusual for him. "The monks told me that everyone in the world is a traveler and the best anyone could hope to find in travels was an honest friend. I know I've found that in you, Skar."

Him bringing up the monks led to obvious question. "Then tell me what happened out there on your travels, Kayupa."

Kayupa looked at him and Skar saw the sparkle in his eyes. The sparkle of confidence. "After years of waiting in the desert, waiting for answers, nothing came. I spent so much time looking. And then, after waiting so long, I realized I was looking in the wrong place."

Skar listened carefully.

"Because there is nothing to look for. The meaning of your life can't be found under a rock. You have to live through it all to see it." Kayupa bowed his head and smiled. "I am grateful for all my problems. After each one was overcome, I became stronger and more able to meet those that were still to come. I grew in all my difficulties. Each problem has hidden in it an opportunity so powerful that it literally dwarfs the problem. The greatest success stories were created by people who recognized a problem and turned it into an opportunity. The thought of you brought sense to it all. I'm not alone. I never was."

"That's right," Skar said gently.

Kayupa stared him in the eyes. "Something else I learned in the desert. In life there are many doors, there are doors that open by themselves. There are secret doors. There are doors that lock. And there are trapdoors," Kayupa bit his lower lip, "that you can't come back from. The old Kayupa. I want you to know he's not coming back."

Skar snapped his fingers. "Damn, he owed me money."

Kayupa's lips didn't even twitch. "I'm being serious."

Skar smiled to lighten the mood. "I know. I think I'll miss him a bit. So will everyone else."

"How are the others?"

Skar felt his emotions tighten in a noose. "Shinran's fine. She misses you as I did. Perhaps even more."

Kayupa nodded to himself, looked down at the ground for a few seconds and then looked back up. "Me and Shinran…maybe there was something there once, but its gone now. We won't work. Despite what you may have thought in the past, I am not interested in Shinran anymore."

Skar's heart sighed with relief. "Well, to be fair, you never really allowed her to know you."

Kayupa nodded sadly. "At one point I did, but it wasn't about her. She could have been anyone. I pushed her aside every chance I got. I guess that was how I knew that we could never work. The way I never gave her a chance."

Skar left it at that. "You want to know about Master Bo-Hi?"

Kayupa shook his head. "No, don't bother. I'm off to meet him now. He's waiting for me. I have a favor to ask of him."

"What favor?"

Kayupa straightened himself. "One that will reveal his true goal. Once and for all." Kayupa looked over at him. "Your training will be over soon, Skar."

"I know."

"Then you will come to help me?"

Skar cocked a smile. "What does your heart tell you, brother?"

With that Kayupa hugged him again. Skar couldn't describe the joy and fulfillment he felt now that Kayupa was back. The man's presence was like a beacon to Skar, showing him what to do. Even if Skar didn't know what to do, Kayupa did. Skar knew that one day he and Kayupa would make a formidable Jedi team. And hopefully Master Bo-Hi would still be with them.

"I'll wait then."

* * *

Skar returned to the temple for the first time in months. He parked the swoop and dusted the sand from his tunic. He pulled off the bandana and placed it in his pocket. Then he picked up his satchel on the rear of the swoop and left the hangar. He came inside the main chamber where Shinran was busy with her meditation.

For a minute he leaned himself against the doorway and admired her while she engaged in her attempt to find some calm inside her head. She'd always been strong, for the time he'd known her, but a weakness in her made it so she couldn't focus her strength on one thing. He had once tried a Jedi technique where he'd melded his mind with hers. All he'd gotten out of the experience was static and panic.

Most people have brain functions that allow problems to be solved quickly. Once a question appears the mind works on its own to find the solution. Sometimes the solution is obvious and can be found without further investigation. The problem solving area of the brain was molded by certain events in life, like training or childhood upbringing, but Shinran seemed to lack all of those.

Whenever she was faced with an enigma or a question she couldn't answer, she'd collapse inwards to a state of nervousness. She dealt with a lot of questions and Skar figured the absence of those problem-solving tools was what made her so inquisitive.

_Listen to your heart._

Skar had many tools from his training and his upbringing that helped him direct the right attention to the center of the unsolvable. And he'd listened to his heart many times. The heart never lied. It had been the best advice he'd ever heard, and he listened to it more than he wanted to admit. A Jedi listened to the heart, but while the heart would never lie, it could be lied to. It could be deceived.

Skar sneaked up behind her, hoping to surprise her. He took silent steps and was only one step away when she turned around fast, a wide smile on her face.

"Boo yourself!"

Skar was startled but her smile lit up the room and his heart. "Hey."

She stood and hugged him. He felt the warm sensation of holding her for only a second before she stepped back, covering her nose with a hand. "You stink!"

Skar blushed. "Well, I've been without a shower for some time. Really, its that bad?"

"Its worse!" She raised her hand to point at his jaw. "And you better shave or grow a new face because that _ain't _attractive!"

Skar rubbed his gritty beard, pretending to be insulted, which wasn't hard. "So you won't hug me? Come on. Give me a hug." He made his voice sound more pleading and did his best to look hurt by her refusal. "I've really missed you, you know…"

She started backing away, giggling. "You smell like a tauntaun!" Then she turned and ran.

Skar ran after her. "Come on!"

* * *

After Shinran forced him to shower and shave, he pulled on fresh clothes and met her outside on the deck by the lake. Skar told her all about what he'd experienced in the passing months during his hike. And he told her about Kayupa.

"Will you go to him?"

Skar pondered the question through and through. Indeed he did want to help Kayupa. That fire was burning at full flame, and Skar longed to put it out. The mission might not have been the wisest one, most certainly a dangerous one, but Skar allowed himself to think that it would be okay to help Kayupa.

Skar glanced at Shinran, her loving and understanding eyes. Her naked feet waved back and forth in the water below the deck. Up high the moon was a bright pale color. The color of death. "I will go."

"Are you ready for that?"

Skar didn't know. He knew the Force was with him, and strongly so, but to go with Kayupa, to follow his path could devastate everything if he wasn't ready. "I'm…not ready now. But I will be. Soon."

Shinran looked at her own feet and Skar stole a glance at her green eyes, staring calmly at the water. Enjoying the sensation and captured by its tingling feeling. She had found much happiness in the last years. Much comfort. Most of all she blamed him for her good mood.

"Skar, whatever you choose, I want you to know that I support you. I think both options are good."

Skar took her hand. "I'm glad you said that."

The burning candle inside him that he'd lit for her was still alive and it grew stronger in its flame whenever they were together. Skar couldn't deny anymore that he was in love with Shinran, and deeply so. Their friendship was strong and they knew each other well. Almost too well. It had gotten to where they didn't even talk about philosophy or ethics anymore, not the way they had in the past. In their time together they had gotten so close that they almost automatically knew the other's opinions. The talks they'd had in the past had gotten them this close.

She was perfect in his eyes. Beautiful, smart, caring, thoughtful, mysterious, devoted and she had the cutest quirks. The way she would sound very mature during a serious discussion, trying to seem strong and secure, and when her point was brought down, she's turn into a small child and whimper about it. She'd make animal noises whenever she wanted something. It sounded very childish but between them it was like their own language. It was something only they shared. Something personal.

She had become so close to him that even when she wasn't around, it was like she was inside his head, or his heart as she said, wandering around talking to him, and guiding him. The way only Kayupa or Lwen had done before. Every new morning all he could think of was to find her and see her, to look in her eyes, to see her smile. To feel that bone-chilling sensation deep down inside when they looked at each other. She was everything he wanted in a friend.

Or a lover.

Only she didn't know about all these feelings, or at least he didn't think she knew, and he longed for a forum where he could tell her. He thought about how lucky he really was, Shinran could have been anyone in the world, but instead she was who she was. It made little sense in his mind, but he knew how fortunate he was to have met someone like Shinran, and he firmly believed it to be a sign, an omen of the kind of future he was moving towards. A future with her.

She looked at him and Skar looked away fast so she wouldn't see him staring at the way her hair played across her tanned shoulder.

"Did he say anything about me?"

Skar fiddled with his fingers. "Well…let me put it this way; if you wake up one morning and there is a batch of beautiful red roses on your doorstep, they're not from him."

She smirked. "That clears that. I've…always suspected I was somehow to blame for his disappearance." She smiled. "It feels so long ago. I guess I've missed him in some ways."

Skar nodded. "I think we all have."

"What about Bo-Hi?"

Skar interlocked his fingers and sighed. "They're meeting right now. Kayupa said he had a favor to ask of him."

"What favor?"

Skar shrugged. "Something important."

"What was it?"

"I don't know. But he's not joining us again. He's chosen his path."

Shinran looked at him with a weird look on her face. "But he wants _you _with him?"

Skar nodded. "He does. He wants me to help him destroy the Jentarana. Take it out of the equation. Take it out of our lives." Could there be some way it could be deployed by them for good? Were any of them strong enough that they could use it as it was intended? It wasn't even supposed to be used as a weapon. It was meant as a defense. It belonged to Ka'ckak, but since Ka'ckak was gone the purpose of the Jentarana had ended. It needed to be destroyed.

Kayupa had the right idea. Destroying the Jentarana was the only way. Its dominance in their lives needed to be expelled. That much power in anyone's hand was wrong.

"You think Bo-Hi wants that?"

Skar shook his head slowly. "He knows what he could do with it, but it is the wrong choice." Skar looked out over the lake. "Its of the Dark Side."

Shinran gave him a look that let him know she knew what he was feeling inside. "You thought he was out of your life, didn't you? You didn't think you'd ever see him again? And now that you have you'll do everything to keep him here."

Skar was surprised she knew him that well. And he was surprised to find that he felt so strongly about it. "Yes," he whispered.

"Then you must go to him."

"If I go there'll be trouble. You saw that place. The Jentarana will be well guarded."

"Kayupa got in. He can get in again."

Skar hoped she was right. "But if I go, Master Bo-Hi will go with me. I don't think I'll like where this might end."

Shinran squeezed his hand. "But you see, it must end. One way or another. You must find out the truth."

* * *

Skar crossed the dunes to where Master Bo-Hi stood, the Jedi Master deep in thought and his eyes turned towards the clear blue sky over their heads. The heavy cloak billowed as a sudden harsh wind passed between them. Skar folded his hands behind his back and waited for his Master to acknowledge his presence.

The Jedi Master looked over his shoulder at Skar and then looked back at the sky. "Welcome back." The Jedi Master snorted. "That's the second time I've said those words today."

Skar's heart clouded. "I know. I've already spoken with him."

"He's - " the Jedi Master clutched his right hand, as if struggling to find the right words, " - relentless."

Skar forced a small smile. "His courage is admirable."

The Jedi Master turned so quickly his cloak snapped, with the sun in his back, his face shrouded in shadows. "You mistook me. I didn't count his relentlessness as a positive trait. Kayupa is a dog chasing a bone, but he does not see that his bone has landed in a puddle of burning fuel."

Skar nodded. "What's a dog?"

The Jedi Master waved the comment away. "You come to me with a question?"

Skar stood. "Yes, Master. Only now I have another one. What were you looking at?"

The Jedi Master scoffed, the sound of it filled with anguish, and rose a clawed finger to point at the sky. "Kayupa has left us again."

Skar stepped forward and stared at the sky. He saw a small bright line working its way up into the sky, into the very core of the sun. It was the _Koniduz_, and Kayupa was flying it.

_He left without me. _

"Why did he take the _Koniduz_? Is he going to Nar Shaddaa?"

Master Bo-Hi nodded. "That was his wish."

It dawned on Skar. "That was the favor he wanted to ask you. If he could take the _Koniduz_." Skar looked down over the dunes, as if staring at them would give him the courage to say what he wanted to say. "Master, I promised I would help him - "

Master Bo-Hi turned. "We have no other ships. Besides, your training is not finished. You're not ready for that sort of thing."

Somewhere in the back of his head Skar remembered, that according to his knowledge the only thing that could threaten a Kjoil Knight's presence in the Force would be to divulge into the teachings of Sith. Apparently the Sith had a very strong influence on the integrity of the Kjoil's symbiosis with the Force, which made perfect sense since the Kjoil were the strongest of the light side of the Force, even more powerful than the Jedi, and the Sith were the strongest of the darker side. They were exact opposites. Which made them very fatal.

Skar straightened himself. "I feel the Force."

Master Bo-Hi lowered his head. "Even if you were ready, none of us knows how to operate the Jentarana. Kayupa may protect the Jentarana, but he can't use the Jentarana to protect himself."

Skar stepped forward, holding out his hands. "He doesn't care about getting it out of there. He wants to _destroy _it."

Master Bo-Hi shivered, as if the desert around them had changed to arctic landscape in the blink of an eye. "He will destroy Jentarana?"

"That is what he told me."

"Skar," Master Bo-Hi hesitated, "how can he do that without the key?"

Skar suppressed a sly smile. A few months ago he had been meditating in his room alone. Channeling through the Force he'd received images and pictures of the past, the present and the future. It all combined inside his head into one grand image of how all life was moving inevitably forward into chaos. The chaos created by the Empire.

And in that image he gained one wide understanding of how everyone worshipped themselves and sought to themselves for personal strength. True strength was not found in the external but in the internal. Inside was where all the answers were to be found.

Whatever one lacked to understand could be found if only one opened his mind enough to let all things come back. Memories of his family had flooded to him, even the memories of those he hadn't know. And even the memory of his uncle, the Sith Lord, the Kjoil, the legend, the terror, Skind Kjoil.

Master Bo-Hi took a step back as it dawned on him that his apprentice had been successfully keeping a very big secret from him.

"I know how to find the key."

Master Bo-Hi looked as puzzled as a person could look. "How? The only one ever to know that secret was Skind Kjoil. He is no longer alive."

Skar didn't like the way Master Bo-Hi had put it. "Maybe not here, but he is in the Force."

"You will try to reach him?"

Skar nodded. "All life exists in the Force. And Jedi can become one with it. Why not him?"

"He wasn't a Jedi, not even a Kjoil when he died. He was a Sith."

Skar scoffed. "Why should they be different? Like you said we're all just different sides of the same Force."

The Jedi Master looked so small, like a fragile wounded animal. And something about that sight pleased Skar. "How would you know it wouldn't damage you?"

"I don't," Skar said, "but its worth it, isn't it, Master? To have the key."

Hitting Skar harder than any physical punch was the deep fear in Master Bo-Hi. At last Skar knew that his fears had been well-founded. Master Bo-Hi _did _want the Jentarana. And the realization of this had made the Jedi Master to feel shame in himself. Skar remembered having searched his Master's feelings and found a wish to have the Jentarana.

Kayupa had been convinced that their Master was on a quest for redemption, that he would use the Jentarana to bring the Jedi back into force. Everyone Skar had ever shared that thought with had seen the danger of it.

Skar felt himself starting to slide. Why had Kayupa gone off on his own? How was Skar to follow? And if Master Bo-Hi wanted the Jentarana, was Skar right to bring the key to him? If Master Bo-Hi saw the same danger, why had he allowed Skar to look for the key? Was there anyone left to trust?

In the end the Master nodded. "Its worth it."

* * *

That night his dreamless sleep was slowly disturbed. He was still engulfed in darkness and hazy understanding of where he was when he felt the slight sting in his chest. He opened his eyes but saw only the dim lighting and the shadows in his room. He scratched at the sting trying to make it go away, but it didn't. He scratched harder until his skin turned red.

Convinced it was just his imagination he signed it off and rolled over on the other side and tried to fall asleep.

But the stinging remained. He sat up in his bed and turned on the light. Examining his chest he saw only the scratch marks he'd induced on himself. The room around him had a very dark feel to it. It was in the middle of the night, he could tell that much from his use of the Force and the drowsy feeling he had inside.

Skar swung his feet over the side of the bed.

Then it came. He felt emotions of hatred, disgust, and powerlessness, but they weren't his. He felt them through the Force from a separate person. He could feel the thought patterns of this other person, and realized it wasn't someone he knew. It wasn't Kayupa. This person was younger, more centered, but hid a dark secret. Hard feelings of guilt and impotence weighed heavily in this person's heart.

Skar could also sense determination and eagerness brewing underneath that cloud of despair. Dangerous impatience and anger hiding behind a shield of good intentions. Skar could almost feel the person as if it was himself. A name rang inside his head, but it was too clouded to make out.

The name was…

…_Good. I can feel your anger. I am defenseless. Take your weapon. Strike me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the Dark Side will be complete…_

Skar heard the voice as clear as if it had been spoken to him directly. A deep, evil voice, that sounded like an old man. And as the voice faded more emotions came rushing through him, and he felt the Force being pulled at from this person whose mind he'd invaded. A Jedi's mind. Then his heart started pounding too fast for his body to keep up. The pain in his chest span out to his entire body.

Pain was cutting through him like a razor and he felt fire flaming through his veins. He screamed aloud and threw himself onto the floor where he contorted in pain. Then more pain, every pounding pain like a blow. He convulsed and tried to crawl across the floor, but couldn't move out of the sheer devastation inflicted on his brain-functions. Nothing worked; only pain.

Only hopelessness.

…_Good. Use your aggressive feelings, boy. Let the hate flow through you…_

Skar felt deep and unwanted embarrasment. Like the unpredicted actions that one made out of rash thinking and loss of self-control. A total loss of the self.

…_Obi-Wan has taught you well…_

Now a third person, this one dark as well, deep in the Dark Side. But this one too hid something beneath his black shell. Somewhere in him burned the energy of the Force, but it felt restrained. It had been held back for too long. It had been lied to, denied, and pushed away like a grudge only to come out in full force when pulled into light.

Skar was pulled off the floor and hovered in midair, still clenched in pain, unable to move out of his fetal position.

…_I will not fight you, father…_

Regret. But also strength. Strength in the faith one owned. Strength to believe it was the truth. The kind of determination that came only from confident willpower. Something worth fighting for. Love. The invisible hand threw him across the room and he slammed against the wall, leaving a trace of blood on the floor beneath.

…_You are unwise to lower your defenses!…_

Skar was pulled away from the bloodied wall, only to be slammed against it again, and again, and again.

…_Your thoughts betray you, father. I feel the good in you. The conflict…_

Feelings of denial and of confidence.

…_There is no conflict…_

Feelings of unshakable contempt.

…_You couldn't bring yourself to kill me before, and I don't believe you'll destroy me now…_

Bravery and again love was a factor in this duel. Something between the two combatants was of love. Deep love. Emotional bonds grown from genetic familiarity.

Family.

…_You underestimate the power of the Dark Side. If you will not fight, you will meet your destiny…_

Skar was pulled from the wall and pounded onto the floor, smashing his face against the floor. The hand dragged him across the room, banging him against chairs, the table, the couch and the bed.

…_You cannot hide forever, Luke…_

Skar could feel the sorrow like it was his own. A tormenting pull at his heart.

…_I will not fight you…_

Skar's legs were pulled up and he hung upside down, his arms dragging beneath him as if he was dead.

…_Give yourself to the Dark Side. It is the only way you can save your friends. Yes, your thoughts betray you, your feelings for them are strong. Especially for…_

Electricity ran through Skar's nerves, as he flew sideways in the air, flew into his bathroom and smashed against the hard concrete wall.

_...Sister?…_

Confusion. And then understanding and disgust.

…_So you have a twin sister? Your feelings have now betrayed her too. Obi-Wan was wise to hide her from me. Now his failure is complete…_

The pain wasn't over yet. It pulled him up and he crashed into the mirror, leaving shards of glass on the floor, tainted with his own blood.

…_If you will not turn to the Dark Side, then perhaps she will…_

He screamed and tried to move but couldn't. He was pulled across the sharp glass, cutting open his flesh and leaving a trail of blood as he was pulled back inside the living room, where he crashed against the dresser.

Pictures of a past he had never had flashed before him, pictures of a young boy eager to become a Jedi, a wise old Jedi Master slain at the hands of a tattooed Sith Lord, a Jedi jumping from a dark pit and saving the day by slicing the Sith in two, pictures of the Jedi cradling his dead Master.

Pictures of love, the young boy had grown into a man, pictures of the woman he loved, pictures of them together. Images of the Clone Wars, massive armies strolling across barren lands, laying waste to everything, pictures of love being shattered by the Dark Side, images of a Jedi Master going to save his pupil turned evil, pictures of molten lava, magma carving through flesh, pictures of surgery and black shining metal.

Pictures of huge space stations blasting planets into shards, pictures of a desert planet not unlike Nanh with twin suns, a young man hoping for a better life, pictures of a Jedi Master vanishing and joining with the Force, images of young pilots determined to protect their homes, pictures of Yoda and a city in the sky, pictures of a dark metal clad warrior claiming to be a father, pictures of Yoda vanishing in the Force, pictures of a sister and the image of green versus red lightsaber clashing in a throne room.

The chairs lifted and smashed against him, breaking instantly. Breaking him as well. His Holocron lifted off the floor and it shattered before him in a million pieces that all flew towards him and sliced multiple cuts in his face.

Regret.

Patricide.

Failure.

…_Good. Your hate has made you powerful. Now, fulfill your destiny and take your father's place at my side…_

Then illumination bloomed to its full flower and Skar felt a bright center inside him showering the entire Galaxy in victory.

Confidence.

Strength.

Defiance.

Pride.

…_Never! I'll never turn to the Dark Side. You've failed, your Highness. I'm a Jedi. Like my father before me…_

Anger.

Hatred.

Disgust.

…_So be it, Jedi…_

Skar could feel his senses coming back but his body was still striving in pain. He tried to stand…

…_If you will not be turned, you will be destroyed…_

The hand clutched him again and squeezed him until every bone in his body broke. Skar screamed but to no prevail.

…_Young fool. Only now, at the end, do you understand…_

Then he was thrown like a rag doll across the room, landing on his bed, painting it in blood. The sheets wrapped around him and he couldn't breathe.

…_Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the Dark Side…_

Then the sheets turned red hot and burned through him. The smell of burning flesh. His skin seared and he screamed again. No sound left his mouth and no salvation came.

…_You have paid the price for your lack of vision…_

A plead.

A cry for help, but none came.

…_Father! Please!…_

Skar felt the sheets starting to burn through his veins, his nerves, his muscles, boiling his blood. The pain was unbearable.

…_Now, young Skywalker. You will die…_

Then came love. Absolute love broke through dark shadows and shone to its fullest extent. The Force washed through him, healing him faster than any of his techniques had ever done. Skar saw images through the Force of a tainted black metal warrior throwing his Master over railing and sending him hurtling into a pit.

Skar felt his bones being reconstructed and his blood cooled. His muscles were rebuilt and his veins popped back into place. Every cut on his body was healed, leaving no traces.

And the sheets freed him, showing him how the room also was rebuilding itself. The chairs morphed into their old selves again. The table perfect as new. The blood on the walls and floor soaking into the walls and leaving the room perfect as new.

Skar sat up, shook himself free of the haunting dream, feeling his body slowly return to normal. He'd detached himself from the dream, and did his best to sign it off as not real. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. He couldn't believe it. It _was _a dream, but dreams did not happen to Jedi.

Skar reached out to the Force, reached for a very specific place and found answers in the form of millions of minds like his own, that had heard the joyous news over the Holonet.

_The Emperor is dead._

Skar was about to burst with joy but another emotion forestalled it. Almost instantly he knew something had changed in his room. Something was new.

Skar jumped out of bed and looked over every corner of the room. He examined his dresser last and as he pulled out the shelf, he found a new suit lying on top of his other clothes. Kayupa's stealth suit.

As he lifted it up he saw something that'd been lying beneath the suit. Kayupa's trusted blaster with the silenced barrel. Skar touched the blaster and felt Kayupa through it. The thoughts of the Jedi, the passion, the determination, the pride and the direction.

Skar held the suit out and a little note fell from it.

It read; _for when you are ready…_

Inside the cockpit of the _Koniduz_, Kayupa jumped out of the seat and went down to the living quarters. Everything was quiet. No sounds, no nothing. He'd never traveled like this alone, there was usually always someone to talk to. But he had come to learn that not only his life, but also his destiny was one of solitude. He did not deter from that fate, he had accepted that he hadn't been put into life so he could be with others. All he needed was Skar's friendship one last time to help him operate the Jentarana. Then he could destroy it. And after that…he didn't know.

Kayupa laid on his bunk and was about to enter a Jedi sleep technique that would wake him up when he was at Nar Shaddaa. The entire distance would feel only like a few hours that way. He had almost entered the sleep when he felt the connection from Skar.

_Thank you, brother._

Kayupa smiled to himself in the lonely quarters, glad to know Skar had found his gift._ How did Bo-Hi react to my leaving._

Skar's presence felt worried. _He thinks you'll get hurt._

Kayupa nodded to himself. _When will we meet?_

_Bo-Hi has agreed to test me for Knighthood in a few days._

Kayupa's heart filled with hope. _So we'll be together soon?_

He sensed Skar's ravenous confidence. _Time and space is all that stands between us, brother. Don't get killed. May the Force be with you._

Where he should have felt joy, Kayupa felt only guilt and sadness. _And with you.

* * *

_

Sasori Dragus wearily leaned himself against the railing above the hangar. The last few weeks had gone without considerable incident, but that was actually why he hadn't been sleeping. They'd made very little progress and it annoyed him. It annoyed him greatly. He knew it did not bother Raydoen so because he thought of the Jentarana as his, but Sasori had bills to pay and like always he was left the less enjoyable end of the bargain.

The Jentarana dropship had been stripped away, laying around in huge strips of dismantled metal hull, only the body of the Jentarana remained. A huge testament of having achieved nothing but Sasori still could not help but take in the awe of the weapon.

_Such deadly force._

_If I didn't know better I'd say the Empire created this weapon, it has their signature. The guise of terror, the terrifying appearance._

The Jentarana was a heavy piece of machinery. A hundred meters in length, not including the tail which by itself measured in at 75 meters. About 180 meters in all. Sasori had even estimated that if the arms were outstretched, the arms and legs all measuring in at 50 meters, the weapon would measure in a total of 230 meters in all. Compare that to a 1.6 kilometer long Star Destroyer, the Jentarana was just a few feet from being one seventh its size.

Sasori's eyes wandered to glance at the hands of the Jentarana, those clutched fists, each finger measured six meters. They could crush an X-wing in one grab. The servomotors were incredible.

He was satisfied with their work so far, but like a father he did not look forward to the day it would leave his hangar. He had grown affected to it over the years. Even though it wasn't his design, he thought of it as his. He'd spent a lot of time working on it, and modified it to be perfect. They'd spent so much time on it and soon it would leave the nest. He knew the crews felt the same way, felt the same affection to it, it was their hard work as much as his.

Sasori's eyes wandered on and ultimately at the tail. Sasori had great admiration for whomever had designed something so ingenious. Sasori imagined the tail could be used to ward off several enemies at once. It could tear down a house, or even slice through the hull of a star cruiser. Strong vibrations in the tail combined with its sharp corners made it into a huge blade-like weapon.

Another facet of the Jentarana that Sasori hoped he could see demonstrated before saying goodbye to it.

Not just the hands and tail were weapons. 30 turbolasers batteries like those on a Star Destroyer were situated on the joints of the arms and legs, even the shoulders were pierced with pits where torpedoes were launched from. A single tractor beam projector was welded into the chest of the creature between the gargantuan arms.

With the blue and gray finish it looked like a aquatic monster, swimming on its tail like a snake. It looked like a rancor only fifty times bigger and with a tail.

The silhouette of the Jentarana was marked as a signature on the forehead of the cockpit, on the head of the giant. The head itself appeared to be the direct copy of a rancor's. A bulge where the signature was sat above the "eyes" which were actually viewscreens for the driver. It even had a mouth, which served no real function, other than establishing fully that the creature was based on something living.

The entire Jentarana was powered by a reactor running along the spine of the weapon. It was nothing short of being a power plant strong enough to support an entire city. It powered all of the giant, even deflector shields and the weapons.

Sasori watched as the crew assembled a new piece of machinery in the tail section. The repulsorlift at the tip had been disassembled and now the tail housed a powerful sublight drive for space travel. It had been an unasked addition to the Jentarana, but Sasori loved working on and perfecting a project. He made it the way he would have made it himself.

He lowered himself to the hangar floor and walked amongst workstations, busy crews and technicians. It gave off a good impression for them to see him down in the pit along with them. He liked to think he was a good employer but he hadn't gone into that part so much that he knew what to look for. The fact that no one had tried to kill him was good enough for him.

Bundles of tools laid here and there, scuds of oil and grease, the smell of sweat, the men busy at devouring energy bars and drinking caf to regain strength. These men worked for him, and they did it without complaint and on command.

He heard welding over his head and saw the sublight drive being pieced together at the tail. The repulsorlift would be situated on the belly of the weapon now. He'd ordered that and so it would be. Sasori looked at the strong repulsorlift under the belly, it would allow the Jentarana to move around inside any atmosphere. Then, when in space, the sublight drives would kick in.

Sasori poured himself a cup of caf from one of the stations and sipped the rich taste. He spotted Dr. Oteyu on top of the weapon, tapping away at a pad.

_What's the imbecile doing now? _

Sasori despised the man, he was a symbol of Raydoen's lack of trust in him. Dr. Oteyu wouldn't be here if Raydoen trusted Sasori to do the job well.

"There!"

At the sound of the exclamation, Sasori looked up and saw the sublight drive receiving its final touch. The drive itself had been stripped from a basic transport, which wouldn't allow it much speed, but that was really insignificant. This weapon could pulverize anything from miles away. The hull was cased in a super strong material to back up its state of the art shields. Dr. Oteyu bragged they could even withstand a Death Star. Sasori had suggested Dr. Oteyu went to Endor right now to test that theory.

Endor.

The battle had begun. And soon the fate of the Galaxy might lie in someone else's hands. If the Rebellion won, it would be a brave new world, maybe a better one, a more _free _one for sure. But he felt confident that warriors and weapons would still be needed, like they'd always been.

However if the Empire _did _fall, that would mean the Jentarana was theirs again. Sasori didn't personally know the owner of the Jentarana, Admiral Ankit Stamper, but the man was Imperial and that was enough. Sasori preferred it on the borderline, he kept himself safely out of the war and struck only to gain profit.

The Rebellion had changed since the Jentarana had dropped into his hands and he now doubted the Rebellion would buy it, their ideals would never allow them to direct their power into something this horrible. But that only left the Rancor League's options more open.

_Change is coming._

Raydoen had previously mentioned his interest in stepping up the Rancor League's reputation. Despite their many bases and stations around the Galaxy, Raydoen still felt they did not have enough control of the market, which actually meant he wanted complete control. Sasori would nod and appear to agree, but he had never cared about being a _wealthy _weapons-seller. Just having enough to make ends meet was enough for him and he liked the way things were.

In the current situation the Galaxy was in he found it somewhat unsettling, but certainly not impossible, that Raydoen might try to advance from weapons merchants to a new reign of government, against the possible new rule of the Rebels. Raydoen was as charismatic a figure as you could get for a leader. And they had plenty of supports from their clientele, which included some very significant people. Raydoen was just brave enough to try it.

He saw some wonderful opportunities in Raydoen's possible campaigning for government. It would branch out their business and allow greater parts of the Galaxy to hear of the Rancor League. But other than that, he saw no point in it. Sasori reminded himself that he didn't want to rule the world, he just wanted to exploit the war as much as he could so one day he might leave the weapon's market and find some new line of work. He'd seen what too much power could do in the wrong hands, and had no wish to count himself among those people.

The two technicians who had aligned the drive to the tail cheered in their own success and Sasori congratulated them in heart. They'd done a great job. Like him they didn't care about what the weapon was used for, they just wanted to get paid.

_War and money. Two powerful allies._

A technician approached him, oil smutched over his face. "Sir, I was told to inform you on the latest update."

Sasori sipped his coffee and barely recognized the technician underneath the smudge. "That's fine, Jao, but I can see it from here. Nice work."

The young man shook his head. "No, sir. You mistook me. Its about the war."

Sasori's heart turned to ice and a deep void formed in his heart. "Yes?"

The boy stared at him with eyes as empty as the mind behind it. "Its over, sir."

Sasori liked the young man, which was why the anger he felt inside felt odd when directed at him. He suppressed his fury. "Okay, Jao. That's very nice to know. Now," Sasori put down his cup and pulled Jao close to him, "do you mind telling me who _won _the war?"

"Oh…Yes, sir. It was the Rebels."

Sasori would have vomited fire if he could. "The Rebels?"

"Yes, sir."

Sasori was never a person who had much experience with anger or hate. Instead of releasing it verbally or kicking something over or, Raydoen's favorite, killing someone, he simply shunned it. He dismissed the young Jao and took calm steps back to his office. He knew from experience that there was only one thing in the world that could help him right now.

Sasori slumped back in his chair, staring at the ceiling of his office as if the answer would somehow form between the cracks in the panels. Life seemed so much simpler just few hours ago. Although he knew the Rebellion would make a better world, regarding peace and prosperity, it would make a harder world business wise. The Empire were easier to deal with because they had no scruples.

They never passed down a chance to get their hands on state of the art equipment, and they were certainly wealthier than the Rebellion would be in years.

The Empire had been his highest paying client, and although he had many others, he suspected he would still feel the change in the market. Many of the people who would pay for weapons to fight the Empire, would now join the Rebellion and be given the chance to do so for free.

Perhaps some of those loyal to the Empire were still alive, perhaps some were still alive to buy the Jentarana. He felt like he was fate itself; he had no doubts that whomever controlled Jentarana controlled the future of the Galaxy.

But he couldn't let conscience interfere. Conscience lost him money. He sat up and his nervous fingers started dancing over the keyboard. He wanted to know details about the Endor battle, he wanted to know for sure what had happened and how great the casualties on either side had been. He wanted to know what was going on _right now _at Endor. He wanted to see if there was a gap, a void, a weakness he could exploit for money.

_War is so fragile for a weapons dealer. Always switching sides._

The door to his office opened so abruptly that Sasori's heart almost leapt out of his mouth. And he knew if it had, the person who walked in would have caught it between his teeth. Raydoen Jayant usually carried himself he was the center of life itself, but there was a hesitation in his step. Sasori didn't know how to describe it, he thought Raydoen looked disappointed, worried.

No, that wasn't it.

Raydoen dropped himself into the couch and his flaming red eyes just stared into darkness like Sasori wasn't even there. He looked _vanquished_. "Inferior," the voice deep and filled with self-pity, "what are you doing?"

Sasori cleared his throat. "Checking up on the situation."

"What situation?"

Sasori felt like Raydoen was toying with him. "You've, of course, heard about the Rebels at Endor?"

"I've heard."

Sasori thought it was evident. "Well…then our little deal with Admiral Stamper is as dead as he is. We have Stamper's money, and the Jentarana. It'll give us more time to work on the Jentarana, figure out what it can do - "

"The deal…is still on."

Sasori inhaled the taste of smoke. "What? But Stamper is dead, Master. The _Empire _is dead."

Raydoen slowly shook his head, beaten. Wallowing in his own self pity. "Admiral Stamper … is alive."

Sasori could hear money being shot into space somewhere. "What?"

Raydoen shrugged indifferently. "He managed to escape the fury and has taken refuge. We are to deliver the Jentarana to him immediately. The _Offeyyu _is already on its way from Pathfort, the only ship we have left that can move the weapon after we dismantled the dropship."

Sasori couldn't believe it. "He's alive," he muttered to no one.

Raydoen only nodded.

Sasori looked up. "Do you want me to come with you to the drop-off?"

"Yes," Raydoen said flatly.

Sasori inhaled the taste of ash. "Why?"

The vampire leaned forward. "A week from now, we will deliver the Jentarana to Soliton. Admiral Stamper has gotten paranoid. He wants us to come as few as possible. Just a transport for the Jentarana. I need you there by my side."

_Soliton? _Sasori didn't know that planet. "He'll be furious if he discovers the weapon is nonfunctional."

Raydoen flashed a sardonic smile, retrieving a bit of his usual persona. "Indeed he will, but it won't happen."

"Why not?"

Raydoen scratched his goatee. "I am in a foul mood, Inferior."

Sasori was anything but stunned. "Yes, so I noticed."

"But I am not so because of Admiral Stamper's survival," his red eyes lit up, "I believe the Jedi is still watching us. I believe he wants his weapon back."

Sasori couldn't help but look out his windows at the skyline outside his office, his eyes searching for a Jedi Knight standing somewhere, luring on them. He found nothing, and he wished he could forgot Raydoen had mentioned it.

But…

"He knew the access-code to the dropship," Sasori thought aloud. "He may know how to operate the main weapon too."

Raydoen nodded. "It would be beneficiary for us to have him at our disposal."

Sasori nodded, seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. "I'll decrease security. Give him a window of opportunity that we can trap him in." The plan was foolhardy and definitely dangerous, but it was the best they could do short of hanging up a welcome sign on the front door. He doubted sending scouts out to find the Jedi would produce any success. You couldn't make a Jedi come to you, he had to come on his own free will. Their only hope lied in the Jedi being desperate enough to walk right into their trap.

"So we take the Jedi hostage and force him to delve the details about the Jentarana to us, and then sell it to Admiral Stamper, right?"

Raydoen nodded. "Right. With that in mind, Dr. Oteyu has told me of the adjustments you've made."

Sasori swallowed the lump in his throat. "I've given it space-capability."

"Why so?" Raydoen asked in an icy tone.

Sasori leaned back in his seat, interlocking his fingers. "I try to satisfy our accounts the way I guess they would want things to be. I can even charge an extra price for the adjustments."

Raydoen smiled. "Ever the economist. Have you given any thought to the future?"

"The future?"

Raydoen stood from the couch and slowly flowed through the room to the front of Sasori's desk. "This weapon will put Admiral Stamper's men at a great advantage, they've become an army without a government, drastic and unreasonable. They _will _use this weapon. And you don't fear it will be turned towards us one day?"

Sasori felt edgy with Raydoen getting closer each second. "Admiral Stamper won't attack us. We gave him the weapon, gave him our loyalty, in return for his."

"Do you trust an Imperial on his word?" Raydoen licked his fangs. "Without space-capability we would have had an advantage if he should ever try to double-cross us."

Sasori felt sweat starting to form on his forehead. "The Jentarana is without hyperspace-capability. It will need a new drop-ship. If attacked, all we'd have to do is destroy its dropship and the Jentarana would be trapped in its system." Sasori knew the things he said were easier said than done, but if Stamper should decide to doublecross them, Sasori found consolation in the fact that the Jentarana was anything but invincible.

Raydoen stopped in mid-step, raised a brow. "You are wiser than I thought. I see hints of a warrior's soul in you. Indeed you have looked ahead to the predictable future."

Sasori was unused to compliments, especially from Raydoen, so he didn't know how to feel. "Like you said, Admiral Stamper is a paranoid man right now. I'd expect the same loyalty from him that I'd expect from a snake. An ocean is never so deep that it doesn't have a bottom."

Raydoen snorted and clapped his hands slowly in a mocking gesture. "Remarkable poetry."

"I have no love for any of the Imperials. Besides," Sasori gestured at the city outside his windows, "times are changing. New leaderships will arise, a time of change for us all."

Raydoen nodded. "Yes. And the Rancor League will have a bright spot in the future."

Sasori's thoughts on the Rancor League becoming a government breathed again. And suddenly a haunting image of Raydoen ruling the Galaxy flashed before his eyes, and in that moment Sasori knew he might never sleep again.

Raydoen turned towards the door. "I'll tell you more about my plans later. For now, spread your concern around the Jentarana," he gave Sasori a grim smile before leaving, "for it will be your future."

* * *

Skar found himself in a weird mood when he came running around the bend that morning and found Master Bo-Hi eating breakfast with Shinran in one of the rooms they used for dining. Their low muttered conversation came to a halt when he stepped in. Master Bo-Hi didn't acknowledge his appearance at first and kept on talking but Shinran looked around and saw him.

He gave a great big smile and held out his arms. "So?"

They both looked at him, blank expressions on their faces.

"Haven't you heard? The Emperor is dead!"

Master Bo-Hi rose from the table and walked over to Skar, a worried look to his face. "What are you talking about?"

Skar realized than that maybe what he had dreamt had only been a dream. That would explain Master Bo-Hi's reaction. Skar thought about saying nothing more but the feeling of joy he felt in the Force confirmed his statement. Master Bo-Hi just didn't feel it.

"Can't you feel it?"

The Jedi Master squinted his eyes and then reached out to the Force. While he did so Skar walked over to Shinran. Skar managed to convince himself that whatever knowledge he'd found before Master Bo-Hi was not sign of superiority. Master Bo-Hi was of course superior to him, that very fact unfortunately made the future even more deadly.

Shinran continued to eat, while Skar leaned against the table next to her. "Is it true? Is the Empire dead?"

Skar hugged himself, observing Master Bo-Hi. "No, not the Empire. But the Emperor is."

She looked up at him. "Wouldn't that mean the Empire is dead too?"

Skar shrugged. "Only if the thousands of Imperial officers out there look at each other and say; 'well, we had a nice run, let's go get a drink.'"

Shinran made a small smile, obviously too unsure of how to deal with this information to laugh at his joke.

Skar thought about the possible paths the Empire would take. "They'll elect a new leader. Or divide into many small groups. Either way they're still dangerous."

She put down her fork. "So why does the death of the Emperor mean so much?"

Skar realized she couldn't see it from the Jedi point of view. "It means that the Sith have been vanquished at last. And that the Force has been brought to balance."

She nodded. "So…the war is over."

Master Bo-Hi came back and looked at Skar, and more worry had come to his features by now. "How did you know that?"

"I had a vision of the Emperor's death in my sleep. He was killed…by someone close to him."

The Jedi Master shook his head. "What I felt confirms your vision, although I feel that more has been resolved than the Emperor's death."

"Meaning?" Shinran asked.

Skar's eyes narrowed, and ice formed in his guts. "Vader."

The Jedi Master nodded.

"Darth Vader is dead?" Shinran asked, her words sounded untrue, but neither Skar or Master Bo-Hi could explain it any other way. Darth Vader had always been the personification of fear and the Emperor's power. Few people knew what the Emperor looked like, but everyone knew what Darth Vader was.

A symbol of the Emperor's merciless grip on the Galaxy. Vader was the monster hiding under every bed in the Galaxy and to think he was gone, just seemed impossible. Vader was the most feared man in the universe and with him dead it felt like no evil was left in the Galaxy,

Skar knew that was not true. Evil would always find a new host. He glanced at Master Bo-Hi and couldn't help feel that maybe evil had already sunken its claws into the next monster.

Shinran rose from the table. A tinge of hope in the corner of her eyes. "So, do we join the Rebellion now?"

Skar smiled confidently. "Yes - "

"No." Master Bo-Hi stepped forward. "_We _still have a mission. And we can't involve the Rebels. They have too much on their minds right now. They will try to gain the trust of the Galaxy and build a new foundation. That we cannot delay. When we have completed our mission, then we can contact the Rebels."

Skar lowered his head in anger. Again the Jentarana was there, hanging over their heads like a shadow. It still needed to be taken out of their lives. Skar looked at Master Bo-Hi. "How come you didn't sense it, Master?"

The Jedi Master was crestfallen, truly surprised by his own blindness. "I don't know. Maybe you had a better touch with the Force than me. You have these visions, but I do not. It is a powerful gift."

_You mean curse_, Skar thought. "So what now?"

Master Bo-Hi folded his hands behind his back. "We make you a Knight and complete our mission."

Skar knew what that meant. Master Bo-Hi retreated to meditate on the events and suggested Skar did the same. He promised he would, but he never intended to do so. With Shinran trailing him they went to the hangar with the two swoop bikes. If Master Bo-Hi intended to make him a Knight, Skar knew there was one thing he'd need to achieve before he was ready to go after Kayupa and stop those who had stolen the Jentarana.

Skar bound the knots on his boots and made sure they were tight. The boots felt like they'd been molded onto his feet but remained comfortable. Then he looked up into the eyes of his heart's unquenched desire.

Shinran.

"You really think this is the way to go about it?"

Skar had chosen two missions for himself before going to help Kayupa, through means he still didn't know. The first mission was to locate or try to communicate with his dead uncle through the Force, in order to obtain some kind of clue to how to operate the Jentarana. Skar figured he might need to know the key to destroy it, or at least to move it to a safer location.

However he didn't have a clue as to how this might work but hoped that Master Bo-Hi might offer help. Perhaps deep meditation or some other kind of trance. Master Bo-Hi had suggested it might not happen on command and that Skind Kjoil, if he still existed in the Force, would only contact Skar when he was willing. That required time. Time he didn't have.

The other mission was to earn something he'd once sworn never to have. A killer-instinct. There was no question about it now, the future would involve fighting for his own life. Skar had never fought anyone besides holograms or benign people like Kayupa or Master Bo-Hi. While they weren't bad teachers, they wouldn't present the danger he would face when real fighting broke out. His enemy then would not back down or try not to hurt him. It would be life or death, and Skar needed to be ready.

He needed to have the experience of fighting for his life.

The second mission came first since it was faster to complete. He had planned to go the Circle of Perfection monks, under the guise of being there to find out if the Perfection was indeed stronger than the Force. He hoped they would show him a way to solve the question. Skar would suggest pitting himself against one of their warriors. Kayupa had explained to him that the monks did indeed have warriors, called Armans, to protect them. Skar had never seen one, but realized he would soon. The monks, he hoped, would not suspect his treachery.

Skar himself was in no way doubtful about the Force being stronger than the Perfection. It wasn't so much that it was stronger, but it was two sides of the same coin. The monks just had a different name for it. Skar hadn't told Master Bo-Hi about going to the monks. He somehow figured the Master would not approve. And neither did he really. But it was foolish to think that fighting wasn't necessary in the future. And Skar didn't want to come unprepared.

He took in a heavy breath of the dusty air inside the hangar, saw the two swoops parked behind Shinran, and knew one of them would soon see use.

Skar smiled to her. "Its the way I've chosen. Its the way I see before me."

"Bo-Hi won't approve."

Skar nodded. "He can't give me what I need. Then I must find it elsewhere."

Shinran held a hand to her cheek as if trying to remember something. Skar could already sense sarcasm building inside her before she even opened her mouth.

"What's that word Bo-Hi used about Kayupa? Oh, yeah. Reckless!"

Skar smiled. "You're so subtle, huh?"

"I just don't want you to get hurt."

Skar walked past her. "I won't"

Skar had chosen his own boots instead of the Jedi boots for this mission, as a sign that he was not Jedi now, he was Skar Kjoil, his own man. He wore his own black pants and a black shirt he'd been given by Kayupa. He had thought about wearing the stealth suit, as it would be appropriate since what he was doing he would do to further his ability to help Kayupa. But it was more to further himself than Kayupa, this ability would help him help Kayupa, but it would mean much more in the future of his life as a Jedi.

Skar straddled the swoop and turned on the power. The swoop roared to life and he lifted it up on its repulsors.

Skar looked at his ungloved hands as the swoop hovered above the hangar floor. The tattoo of the Kjoil. He still owed his family to become the Jedi they wanted him to be, and now he'd chosen to reach that path by following the blood of the Kjoil in his veins instead. The flame in that blood could not be killed. To be Kjoil was his birthright and one he could easily relate to. To be free.

Like what he was doing now. It was not Jedi. It was Kjoil. It was reckless, yes, but it was what his heart had chosen. _Listen to your heart. If you believe something to be true, it becomes true. _

Skar took a last glance at Shinran. "Famous last words?"

She walked over and held his hand, pressed it against her lips, and Skar felt the hairs on his arm freezing. She looked up into his eyes, and Skar desired more than ever to be hers. "I hope to see you again, let that hope be a reminder to stay alive."

Skar nodded slowly. "I will."

The hangar doors opened and Skar was on his way. The midday sun was high and baking on his black clothes faster than he would thought. He relished the knowledge that he didn't have to go far. The camp was just five clicks away. He headed east to where the monks of Perfection were currently stationed.

As the speeder rocketed across the desert, leaving the temple a speck in the distance, Skar kept thinking about Shinran's lips touching his hand. She'd kissed him only once before, on that cliff two years ago. That time she'd been fearing that one day their paths would part and he would leave her. She'd kissed him passionately on the lips, not just a peck, but a full blown kiss. He remembered the taste of her warm breath against his. The intimate touch of their mouths and the rousing feeling he'd felt.

That had triggered the love in him. It had shown him clearly how he felt for her. He was in love with her. And now she'd kissed him again, this time once again fearing he might not come back. She had before expressed feeling happier when he was around. His presence was illuminating for her. Skar was happy to have that effect on her, and it only strengthened his belief that they shared the same emotions for each other. A feeling of togetherness.

A feeling of belonging to each other.

He arrived at the camp faster than he'd suspected. The monks came out of their tents and greeted him, welcoming him in. Everywhere the little children followed at his feet and stared at him like he was an alien and he realized they were right. To them he was. Shinran had told Skar that when she had visited the monks with Kayupa two years ago, he'd been able to understand their language by tapping into the Force, and also be able to use the Force to translate his own words so the monks could understand him. That technique flowed easily to Skar. He didn't even have to think, it came as natural as opening his mouth.

They led him inside their main tent, where the priests and the leaders gathered to discuss important matters. Skar was placed standing in the center of some ten Elders. The priests. All of them looked alike. Their dark cloaks matched in every detail and they bowed their heads in unison.

Skar noticed Caedmon, a monk whom had known Kayupa and that Skar had had many interactivities with in the past, coming up behind him. Caedmon had come with him to transfer his request. After Caedmon had given Skar's statement, one of the Elders looked up at Caedmon.

Growling he returned his gaze to Skar. _Caedmon, this one will not be allowed to offend us! You are responsible for him. Now awaken him!_

Caedmon pleaded. _Elder, he does not understand our ways, he is not trying to be offensive - _

Skar spun and gave Caedmon a silencing look. "I don't need you sticking up for me, Caedmon." Skar turned to the Elder again, "I didn't come here to make waves between us. I came to finally learn if the Perfection is stronger than the Force."

Instantly waves of fear pounded through him. Skar felt it as some of them exhibited fear when hearing about the Force. Skar remembered Master Bo-Hi saying it was an insult to mention it. Some of them began talking to each other. The Elder tried not to look surprised but Skar could feel the panic inside the monk, failing his previous calm. Skar smiled cruelly, satisfied knowing he had an upper-hand in this verbal war with the Elder.

Skar could also feel disappointment coming from behind him, in Caedmon.

The Elder looked at Skar. _If that is your wish you will be admitted. We could all benefit. _The Elder nodded. _He will suffer the test._

Skar didn't like the word _suffer._ The discussion had went as he hoped, they'd accepted his plea for a test and would indeed pit him against an Arman. He had lied and implied that the main cause of the fight would be to settle the conflict between the Jedi and the monks. Which was the stronger side? Yet their probing was a problem as Skar was afraid they might kick him out again if they knew all he was there for was to learn about true combat. He also did not tell them that he thought that a test between the Force and the Perfection was doomed to fail, if it was based on its uses in combat. He understood the Force to have a greater use than fighting, although right now it was definitely one of the most important.

They took him to one of their permanent temples. A cave entrance led down beneath the desert, and through several lit corridors before he reached his destination. He was taken down a few levels into the bowels of the temple, into a large, dark, black room.

The room was crowded with endless masses of monks in dark cloaks. A single wide ray of sunlight shone through the ceiling, revealing only a small section of the room in a lit circle. The monks began clearing the circle of light, leaving an empty area in the middle of the room, large enough for him to move around in freely.

As they stepped back from the circle in waves, Skar was forced closer to it. The monks cleared the light and stood just at the edge of it, heads bowed and deep in concentration.

Only one other man stood in the light circle, a man taller and broader than Skar, packed with tight muscles and long black hair covering his face. The Arman, Skar recognized the stance of a warrior. He was a monk, very well built and strong. There wasn't an ounce of fat on that lean perfect body. His hair, which hung over his face, covering all sign of mouth or eyes, was longer than Skar's. He couldn't see anything of his face, just like the rest of the monks he hid his face, bowing down to stare at the floor.

Skar was pushed into the area, surrounded by the monks. Two monks appeared at Skar's sides and stripped him of his black shirt. He kept his pants on and noticed the monk was also only wearing pants. Skar unclipped his lightsaber and gave it to Caedmon. This time feeling very little remorse at giving the lightsaber to someone else.

The two monks then donated him a wooden-staff about the size of his lightsaber. Skar moved the staff around a while to get a feel of it, getting used to its weight. It was heavier than the lightsaber, but Skar easily got used to it. As he gazed upon the man standing opposite him in the area, Skar understood he was going to need whatever little space there was in the circle of light.

Skar turned to Caedmon. "So he's ….?"

Caedmon lowered his voice so the others wouldn't hear. _An Arman. Trained to fulfill the prophecy._

Skar nodded. "Okay." He took a second to think it over. "What prophecy?"

_The Perfection says that one day the Imperfection will come to our world and we must defeat it. The prophecy says that the Imperfection can only be defeated by the Arman, the warrior caste of our monks. The monk you are fighting is an Arman, he has been chosen to be so. They are only warriors, they do not spiritualize like the rest of us. They are guardians and protectors._

Skar looked over the Arman in the other end of the light. "So if I defeat him, I will earn the rank of the Arman with you?"

Caedmon laughed. _No, that is not possible. You're not a monk. You think too much. You are too spiritual. That talent is more valuable than combat._

Skar frowned. "Depends on the situation."

He resumed to the combat area and focused his mind on the Arman. The monk opposite him was given a staff too, same size as Skar's. The monk made some quick moves with his staff, showing off his skill. They didn't surpass Skar's by miles, but that wasn't the point neither.

Rather than focusing on that weakness, Skar put himself in the middle of the arena and lifted up his staff, waving his opponent forward.

But the monk kept his distance and started circling around Skar, allowing him to be the aggressor. Though he felt wary of mischief, Skar advanced, swirling his staff like a shield and finally attacked. The Arman side-stepped easily and brought his staff down on Skar's lower back as he came forward. The pain ran down his back like a tree had fallen on him and Skar fell down. Easily.

Too easily.

Skar rolled away in case the monk should try to attack him while he was down. But the monk completed his circle around Skar and stood waiting. He wanted a fair fight.

Skar calmed his nerves and rose again. _Come on!_

Back on his feet Skar held the staff at his side and this time he started circling the area, always keeping the Arman opposite of him. Skar wanted the monk to make a move this time. However the monk saw Skar's previous attack it wasn't with his eyes, that long slick hair kept the monk's vision to an absolute minimum.

Like an afterthought Skar realized the monk was solely using the Force, or Perfection for that matter, as his eyes. Which meant Skar could not fool him with any feint.

Nothing happened for a while, and they circled each other. Skar used the Force to learn about the monk as time went by, studying his footwork, listening to his breathing. Around them the monks stood quietly, heads bowed, their eyes closed and minds open to the events in the area. The silence was so thick he could hear the monks around him breathing, which made him very nervous. It wasn't until then that he realized he was surrounded by possible enemies.

At that moment the monk made a move, but although it sent a panic through Skar it was nothing more than a quick change of rhythm in the monk's step. Skar didn't realize this right away and instantly flung himself into a quick, raged attack on the Arman's leg. Skar jumped forth, pretending to strike at the monk's head, but changed target at the last minute.

The Arman anticipated this and parried the strike at his leg and gave Skar a head-butt. Before the pain of it had fully reached his brain, the monk swung his staff around and slammed it hard against Skar's skull. He fell over on his back and the pain numbed all of his senses for tens of seconds.

For the longest time he thought he was dying, that simple knock on his head created stars that floated around inside his eyes. He felt like he was floating and wondered if soon even that feeling would fade, into nothing. Skar panicked. His intestines crystallized and he caught himself seeing Shinran's face before him. It was enough for him to fight back the void he thought was coming.

Skar's hands clutched the staff he knew had to be there and the sensation of the wooden stick brought a new impression to his brain, one he could focus on and pull himself out of his stupor. When the world made sense again Skar cursed himself for being so stupid.

The monk had read his mind in return, knowing Skar was only waiting for something to change, something drastic. He'd fallen right into the monk's trap. Though he wasn't sure and couldn't believe it he imagined he heard snickering among the observing monks around him.

The Arman stepped aside, letting Skar stand once again.

Skar rose slowly. _Enough playing around._ He stretched out, feeling the locked up minds of the other monks. He pricked at their thoughts but their control was too great, he couldn't tap into their minds. He looked over at the opposite monk, the fighter. Skar tried to tap into his mind, but it was sealed too. These monks had perfect control of their minds and he couldn't do anything to tap into them.

_Unless…_

Skar tapped into the Force and felt its empowering energy rush through him. Many solutions presented themselves, coloring the scene in green and red. Skar picked the one that was the most painless.

For him.

He held the staff up horizontally in front of him, and lifting his knee, he brought the staff down over it, breaking it in two.

The show worked, all of the monks were startled and looked up to see him, to see if what they had read in their minds had actually happened. He had stepped across a line they hadn't expected him to. Right then their control, their defense, was lost, and like a stealthy warrior Skar sneaked inside their minds. Skar was able to tap into the Arman he was fighting as well.

When they realized his ploy all of the monks quickly resumed to looking at the floor, trying to regain their control. While he felt surprise and worry from them now, he knew he had found something. A flaw in their perfect mind. He had been able to read their emotions. He had been able to read their minds. The monks were very worried now, especially the one he was fighting.

The Arman hadn't counted on Skar being able to read his mind. But the surprise he had given them, had opened the door for him.

Now the advantage was his, the Arman became clumsy and not as concentrated as before. Skar gave a nefarious smile, knowing the Arman would look up and see it, and he did.

Never had he felt so good in seeing so much fear.

Skar's smile widened as he focused on the Force, raised his two staffs and dove in for the attack. He came in, targeting the Arman's face with one of the staffs, and the Arman had to look up to see his attack, since his concentration in the Perfection was lost. The Arman raised his staff, to parry the strike, but Skar had already dropped to his knees by then and pushed the second staff up under the Arman's hands and into his face. The Arman got it on the chin and fell immediately back into the crowd of monks.

Skar stood back, swinging the staffs in his hands, smiling at the fallen Arman. Skar watched his breathing and was careful to maintain it at a level that wouldn't leave him exhausted. The Arman managed to stand, though dizzy and loose on his feet. Skar sensed the Force flowing through him, showing him weaknesses and advantages he could use. The warrior-monk straightened out and gripped his staff, hard.

Skar nodded to him with faked respect and waited for the Arman to make the attack this time. Filled with shame, the warrior flew at him, his staff leveled until a few feet before Skar, where he smashed down at where Skar's head should be. Skar held up both staffs, and caught the blow at their nexus. He lifted his foot and kicked out into the Arman's chest, flattening him on the floor.

Never missing a beat, Skar jumped up and came down with one of the staffs, smashing into the warrior's ribcage.

Skar rolled away from the attack and readied himself for another round. _Dust it off and try again_, Skar prayed, eager to continue to bring the Arman down to size and to prove himself.

The Arman moaned, but managed to stand. He quickly found Skar in the haze of the combat and attacked again. The warrior came in with a side-long blow, which Skar parried with the right staff. While holding the Arman's staff pinned with one staff, he moved in closer and smashed his free fist into the warrior's face. Blood dripped from the Arman's nose.

He tumbled back, spitting drops of blood on the ground.

Skar smiled again, a cruel sadistic smile. _Not how you figured the day would go when you got up this morning, is it?_

The Arman stared at Skar, behind cuts, blood, and bruises. Skar dusted off sand from his pants casually, as he waited for the Arman to make up his mind. The warrior waved back his long hair with a bloody hand, revealing his face for the first time, and then advanced for the last time. He lifted the staff high up over his head as he charged forward.

Skar bent down in his knees and awaited the attack. The Arman struck down hard, and Skar blocked it with his right staff, while his left foot kicked into the side of the Arman's head, leaving him disorientated.

The Arman managed to raise his staff again, but Skar was far from over. He smashed the staffs from both sides into the Arman's stomach, and kicked him once more in the chest. The Arman was moving backwards, unable to stand still. Skar struck mercilessly, knocking the staff down hard on the Arman's throat and sweep-kicked his feet away under him.

The defeated warrior went down, his long body taking up almost half of the circle's width. The Arman coughed up blood as he convulsed on the floor, his entire body shivering as if some arctic wind was blowing through him.

Skar stood over him, his hands dripping with blood that wasn't his, teeth barred and his eyes wide open. Skar blew away the sweat creeping down his cheeks and he didn't notice until then how hard his breathing had become, he'd forgotten to maintain it during the last part of the combat and he could feel his heart racing against his chest.

Silence followed and swept up the room in its grasp until two monks ran into the arena and dragged the unconsciousness fighter out. Skar watched as the Arman's body left a blood trail out of the arena.

_I killed him?_

"Is he dead?" Skar asked the monks, but received no answer. Skar felt bad, he couldn't sense if the Arman was dead or not. All he sensed from the warrior was dizziness and pain. The Arman wasn't dead yet, but Skar realized his attacks might have been responsible for killing him later. If he had done sufficient damage to his internal organs. The monks walked off into the crowd and they all started walking off into the darkness.

Caedmon stepped out from their midst, into the fighting area and handed Skar's lightsaber back to him. The monk folded his hands, a grave look on his face._ You are to leave our temple._

Skar wiped sweat from his brows. "I don't understand."

_No. It is not important that you do. We don't expect you would._

Skar threw his staffs on the floor and clipped the lightsaber to his belt. He shrugged at Caedmon. "It doesn't matter. I didn't come here to prove myself to you. Only to myself." And that he had. When fighting the Arman he had clearly felt the urge to survive in him. It wasn't a matter of life or death. It was a matter of self-defense. A talent Skar knew he would need.

Caedmon shook his head. _You used us?_

"I don't care about your religion, its not my problem that you prefer a life in ignorance," Skar felt as if the words weren't really his, they came from a dark and cold place inside him, "you can't prove your strength, your faith, in a melee fight. Spiritual strength doesn't need to be proven. You can tell that to the Elders, maybe then they won't think their Perfection is as weak," Skar's eyes squinted, "as weak as I've just proven it to be."

Caedmon's gaze seemed unaffected, almost quizzical. _I wonder now if that it is true. A monk of the Perfection would never have done what you did. He would never injure a man in personal gain. _Caedmon shook his head slowly. _I have no doubts at all of which is the more powerful body. But I hope you have had your fun at our expense._

Skar smirked. "Well, I do appreciate you letting me learn in your temple."

The monk snarled and walked out the arena, leaving a bad air behind him. As the monk disappeared, Skar turned to the shadow in the room. The shadow he'd known to be there the whole time. Skar felt that feeling of being watched and remembered he'd felt that way before. Some years ago on a bridge on Nar Shaddaa. That shadow had watched him back then too.

And asking the question, Skar pulled up his shirt from the floor. "Why did you just watch? Why didn't you intervene?"

The shadow stepped out of the darkness.

"Shinran told you, didn't she? I know you think this was wrong, so why didn't you act?"

The Jedi Master looked very unpleased. "What you have done, was very dangerous. The Jedi cannot seek thrills in that manner - "

Skar's darker side emerged without resistance. "I'm _not _a Jedi! I'm a Kjoil!" Skar touched his chest with a bloodied fist. "My way permits me to do so without endangering myself. The Kjoil follow their emotions instead of blocking them. I was _never _in any danger!"

Master Bo-Hi tilted his head, the darkness of the room almost shrouding him. His voice sharpened. "Indeed you were. And you know it. You lost control. Your recklessness and your haste in combat is something you must be careful of. It could be your greatest weakness."

Skar wouldn't apologize for his act, he couldn't. It would demean what he was trying to do, what he had to if he was to secure the future. "I found what I needed, Master."

Master Bo-Hi looked at the stain of blood on the floor of the arena. "Why go for such a childish ritual? You have learned to move with the Force, but you have not yet learned to be still with it. We both know you're better than this."

Skar pleaded. "I need this, Master. If I am to help Kayupa, the way I want to, I must be ready for combat. I can't fear it. To prepare for something that you know is coming, can't be wrong."

"The methods _can _be wrong."

Skar scoffed. "Like you said; I'm still a Padawan. There is no failure, only lessons."

It took a while but Master Bo-Hi accepted surrender and looked away. "You win, Skar."

Skar smiled. It felt good to outwit Master Bo-Hi with his own philosophy -

"_But_…tell me this, great Kjoil," the Jedi's voice was full of taunt, "if you are _so _wise and in _so _much touch with the Force, how come you have not seen the illusion _all around _you?"

Skar didn't understand. "What illusion?"

Master Bo-Hi's voice was filled with animosity and promises of cruel intentions. "You were successful in finding the clue to the Jentarana through meditation. You have found many answers this way. But the most obvious one still eludes you."

Skar felt his hand slightly reaching for his lightsaber. _Is this the moment of confrontation? Is this where Master Bo-Hi will see his wrong and decide to kill me? _Skar held his hand close to his hip and kept his senses on wide alert.

"When you first came here you felt a sense of recognition in this world. You thought it seemed familiar. Shinran even told me you sensed Skind Kjoil's presence in the hangar."

Skar nodded, although he had to pull on that memory to fully remember it. "The Jentarana was stored there, it has his mind. That's how I was able to sense him - "

"No," the Jedi Master interrupted, a smile of vindictiveness across his face. "Skind Kjoil _was _in the hangar. He flew the Jentarana there and he stored it there personally in his Sith days. Remember that I told you I didn't know who had originally built the temple? Skind Kjoil built it, after he became a Sith."

Skar felt anger inside him as another lie was exposed. And to know that he had been living in a Sith temple for the last two years sickened him.

"He stole the Jentarana shortly before the Clone Wars and kept it here as a prize for his Sith Master."

Skar remembered that two years ago, Master Bo-Hi had been talking about how he'd come to Nanh, but kept out the details about how he had been given the Jentarana. "But Kayupa said that my mother had taken it after his death, and that she delivered it to you?"

"She did. She gave it to me on this world."

Skar stepped forward. "She was here too?"

The Jedi Master waited for him to unravel the puzzle himself, but it didn't happen. "You still don't see what I'm trying to tell you?"

"No."

"Then let's go back home and I'll show you the final clue."

* * *

The ship was a marvel of technology, and testament to the Empire's might. There were whole systems whose gross domestic product was less than the cost of a single Star Destroyer. There were entire nations that, throughout their history, did not expend as much energy as a Star Destroyer did during a hyperspace jump. The triangular silhouette of an Imperial cruiser had come a long way since its Old Republic-inspired design.

The Imperial Star Destroyer's gargantuan size was the very pinnacle of both awe and terror. The ship was bristling with weapons emplacements. Turbolasers and tractor beam projectors dotting all over its surface.

Inside of the ominous ship, Admiral Ankit Stamper of the Imperial Remnant nervously tapped his fingers on the armrest of his command chair. His nails could not be bitten down any further without drawing blood and his fat fingers tried to avoid sounding anxious but failed. He couldn't let the crew see him like this. It would weaken moral.

The strike at Endor had been a catastrophe. Utter and complete loss. He didn't know how many still lived. If any lived. But the Holonet was teeming with reports of the riots against the Empire on Coruscant. They'd even toppled the statue of Emperor Palpatine on Coruscant. How dared they? Those insolent ingrates.

He'd spent a lot of time searching channels for any Empire loyal forces, but the channels were either shut down or no one answered. He only hoped some of his Imperial comrades would soon contact him and they could join forces again. It was vital to work fast, to patch together a worthy force to rampant the Rebellion before they gained too much control. If only it wasn't too late.

Eager to show himself as undeterred to his crew, Admiral Stamper rose from the chair and tried not to look at the crew behind him. He knew that whatever strong impression he wanted to exude, would always be defeated by his overweight features. A life as an Imperial Admiral had long since softened him and the lean body that had once looked so good in a uniform was far gone.

Now he was lucky to find a uniform in his size, or a command chair that didn't have to be customized to his rotund body.

He walked with sad steps to the viewscreen and watched the endless array of stars as they silently glistened in the distance like pearls. This had once been a region of the Empire, now its leadership stood unsolved, hanging in the balance like bait. There were no Imperial ships around anymore. No evidence of the Empire's former glory.

He folded his tubby fingers before him in silent prayer. Although armed with a fully equipped Star Destroyer, it meant nothing against the battle-hardened forces of the Rebellion. They were more intelligent than he had thought. Or more lucky, luck could never be ruled out. Sometimes the better armies could fall at a single toss of dice. As they had done at Endor.

_But soon I will be throwing the dice, and they will land in my favor._

One of a very few things that made everything seem less hopeless, was the contact Admiral Stamper had maintained with some of the major weapons dealers in the Galaxy. The Rancor League was only one of his many aces. Others still awaited his orders to deliver material and equipment to launch a great attack force. However, the Jentarana-weapon from ancient times was his trump card. It would leave all others indifferent.

Once he obtained the Jentarana weapon, and allied himself with other Imperial remnants, the surface of things would not be so bleak. But he had his worries about that Raydoen creature, if the Rancor League failed to carry out his order, then his final blow would certainly be one at Pathfort. Betrayal was not to be accepted of any kind, especially now. Loyalty between cooperatives was crucial.

_Infact…_

He turned around to face his crew. "Ensign."

The communications-technician walked up to him with a confident stride across the wide bridge. "Yes, Admiral?

"Connect me with Nar Shaddaa."

"Right away, Admiral."

He knew that due to the current state of the Imperial network connection would take time, perhaps hours. But time wasn't as important a factor at this point. Surely he had to move fast, but events had already been set in motion to make sure the Jentarana would be delivered on time. He only needed to remind Raydoen of that. _Never leave the ones below you alone long enough to conspire against you. _

Half an hour later the holographic image of the vampire with the red eyes and the burning tattoo appeared before him.

Admiral Stamper tried not to let the fear running through him show on his chunky face. "Raydoen Jayant, have my orders been met?"

The vampire slug smiled. "If I could avoid delays, I could work faster."

The anger that fluttered in his belly by Raydoen's spiteful tone, made Admiral Stamper aware of an opportunity. He raised his voice, making sure all of his crew would hear him.

"You will take that insolence out of your tone, knave! You are talking to an Imperial Admiral. You would be wise to recall how the Empire dealt with insolence in the past."

Raydoen made a sly smile, then the vampire shrugged. "Past-tense. What an appropriate choice of words."

"Watch your step, Raydoen. History will forget you, but I won't." Admiral Stamper felt his palms begin to sweat. "Is my weapon ready?"

"I've sent out orders for a transport ship to carry the weapon to Soliton in a standard week, as you wanted. However I cannot promise you anything about the weapon's condition. We're working on a piece of equipment that has not been seen in almost thirty years. Its not like there are manuals and textbooks lying around to explain its features. We're fumbling in the dark here, Admiral."

Admiral Stamper felt like his blood was starting to boil. "You've had _two _years!"

Raydoen's confident smile wavered. "We _will_ meet the deadline, but I cannot you promise you anything about the state of the weapon. However, I understand you are in a press for time, so I will make sure the men work double shifts."

Stamper didn't believe anything coming of the vampire's mouth. "I'm sure you will. I have always counted the Rancor League among the reliable of my weapon suppliers. It would be unfortunate if I had to start a search for another."

Raydoen detected his ploy. "I doubt many people would take in a _former _Imperial Admiral. Maybe in the past, but not anymore. Don't mistake yourself for someone important, Stamper; those days have ended."

Admiral Stamper held up a bloated finger. "Enough of this! You have your orders! Only one transport. This is a simple drop-off."

Raydoen begged to differ. "Admiral, has all that time in hiding gone to your brain? We are talking about a big package. Nothing simple about it."

Admiral Stamper licked his lips. "Just make sure you'll be there as planned."

"We'll be there." Raydoen's tattoo glowed. "However…the fee has been raised."

"What?"

Raydoen was emotionless. "Modifications have been made to the package. Alterations. My chief technician has redesigned the weapon to a more effective state. You should be thanking me."

Admiral Stamper held out a fist. "I didn't order any changes!"

Raydoen shrugged indifferently. "Nevertheless they have been made. At great cost to me. You will refund my efforts."

Admiral Stamper cursed the bloodsucking leech, but knew there was no point in taking the conversation further. "You will be paid in full, _if _my package is fully operational."

At that, however, Raydoen did look worried.

Admiral Stamper tilted his head. "It _is _fully operational, isn't it?"

Raydoen scratched his goatee. "The weapon is enhanced with sublight drives to allow space-travel. Control mechanisms are intact. But the defense systems are a different matter all together."

Admiral Stamper had expected subterfuge, nevertheless he was enraged. "Tell me, weapons-man, what good is a weapon _without_ weapons!"

The head of the Rancor League held up his hands. "The problem will be taken care off before the deadline." Raydoen licked those self-sharpened fangs to try and scare Admiral Stamper, but the threat was useless light-years away. "You will have your weapon."

Admiral Stamper looked at the bridge behind him, saw the crew working perfectly, even without his supervision. They were a tight crew, they could be trusted because they knew their lives rested in his hands. He cared for them as he would for any soldier he'd ever dragged through boot camp.

Admiral Stamper faced Raydoen again. "Don't screw around with my timetable, Raydoen Jayant, the Empire is still alive and we will not tolerate failure."

Raydoen reached out to disconnect the transmission. "Its a wonder you're so calm then."

Admiral Stamper wanted to punch the hologram but it shifted and vanished before him. The vampire had always been a nuisance. But Admiral Stamper had to trust the man would keep his word. The Rancor League had a reputation for being loyal to the Empire, as well as all its accounts, but right now Admiral Stamper wouldn't trust anyone. Except his crew.

Admiral Stamper sighed with great anguish and held on to the only thought that made his situation seem hopeful. The Empire Reborn.

* * *

Sasori Dragus looked at the glowing red eyes of Raydoen's as he turned away from the hologram-transmitter. Raydoen didn't look nervous at all, in fact his face was painted with unexplainable calm.

Sasori noticed his own hands were jittery from watching the confrontation with Stamper. "If we can't get the Jedi to tell us how to operate the weapons - "

Raydoen looked at him, that mystery calm gradually withering. "He will."

"How do you know all this?"

Raydoen hugged himself, locking his eyes on something outside the office, outside the windows. "To know is nothing at all, to imagine is everything. We are warriors of different sides. But the war is the same. He wants the Jentarana back and to do so he will have to come to us, like we've always known he would. The trap will not be too difficult."

Sasori nodded. "To lure him into thinking we don't expect him."

Raydoen shook his head slowly. "No. Let _him _work in stealth. That doesn't mean we have to. You've loosened up on security detail?"

"As we agreed."

"Good. He will see us working with an even smaller crew than usual, and he will see the trap a mile away. And he will know then that we know he is here."

"Beat the grass to startle the snakes?"

"Precisely. He will move more carefully in his stealth fashion, because even if he knows that we are aware of his presence, he will not give up the Jentarana."

Sasori began to understand the intellect of the man, he was wise in regards to how to lure out an opponent, maybe even adding more danger this way, but still if the theory held, the Jedi would soon be in their hands.

Raydoen continued to stare out the blast-proof window, mesmerized by something in the distance. "The Jedi is out there and when the _Offeyyu _arrives he will follow us to Soliton. He will presumably try to breach the _Offeyyu _and work his way to the Jentarana, but he can't steal it until we have arrived at Soliton. He can't escape in hyperspace."

Sasori wasn't espcially comforted by that notion. "What if he tries to bail before we land on Soliton?"

Raydoen's hands came up before his chest and almost instantly began performing strange motions. The hand signals had Sasori confused. It looked like a sign language. Was he talking in secret to someone else?

Raydoen completed whatever it was he was doing and finally said, "I won't let him."

Sasori stepped forward, trying to see out the window but couldn't detect anyone on the roofs outside. But he'd been in the weapons business long enough to know that it wouldn't take much camouflage to hide someone out there in the blackness of Nar Shaddaa.

"He could try to incapacitate the hyperdrive," Sasori said while scouting, "and steal it when the ship comes out of hyperspace."

Raydoen smiled. "Hence, the hyperdrive will have the most security. Another clue of our knowledge that he is there."

Sasori moved his eyes over to look at Raydoen, finding himself once again impressed with the man, impressed that he actually knew something about strategies. "You've thought this through."

"Indeed I have." His red eyes lingered on Sasori for a handful of seconds before he turned and headed for the door. "The Jedi will meet with me and I will find the knowledge we need with the simple move of a blade."

* * *

Kayupa's handheld binoculars zoomed in on his target. The sophisticated device displayed images with an overlay of computerized information detailing the object's distance, and elevation. The imaging apparatus functioned even in low light, enhancing the view to readable levels. It even compensated for the rain as Kayupa found what he was looking for.

_Sasori's office. _

He could see right through the window at the two people talking in there. He only recognized one of them, the man known as Sasori Dragus. The other man appeared to outrank him. He could make out all the features on Sasori and the other man, who appeared to have good taste in fashion as well an infatuation with the color black.

Kayupa didn't know the species but found the appearance itself to be…interesting. He moved the scope left and down, to the man standing by the window in front of Sasori. The rain was pouring down around him so he couldn't tell much from the enhanced audio functions of his binoculars.

This other man was very stoic, he listened and absorbed. Then shared his opinion, which more times than not, seemed to worry Sasori. Kayupa zoomed even further in on them and tried to read their lips. He could only discern fragments of it.

First Sasori spoke; _What if - bail - before - land on Soliton?_

_Soliton? _Kayupa thought, but before he could connect the name with anything, he noticed the other man making signals, like sign language, as he stared out the window, looking at something beyond Kayupa.

Yet somehow Kayupa got the feeling the man was talking to him. It was unexplainable. They shouldn't know he was there.

The hands moved.

_Pain is merely an illusion, our key to redemption. You are mine, and I am yours. _

Kayupa felt a chilling fear run through him and swallowed a huge lump in his throat. He then put away the scope and looked at the storage facility, that was suddenly once again two miles away. With the scope he'd seen it so close that he might have been standing right next to Sasori and the mystery man. He didn't know what to make of their talk, but knew that the next thing he'd do was find out more about this mystery man

Kayupa looked up to the sky with dread forming in his guts. The bandana's trails hovered on the air behind him and his long soaked hair clung to the back of his neck like a wet towel. But the feeling of finality inside him was far worse. He knew what he had set out to do, and he knew what it demanded of him.

And as long as he didn't have to face the choice at that very moment, he could still find the courage to continue on his mission.

_Damn Bo-Hi and his illusions. Damn him for making me do this._

He reminded himself once again that one half of knowing what you want, is knowing what you must give up before you get it. For anything worth having one must pay the price and the price is always work, patience and self-sacrifice. Kayupa too had felt the death of the Emperor in the Force, and he knew that times were critical, tense, and that it was a perfect time for them to make their move.

_Skar is not here yet, but he will come. Our friendship binds him to his promise. Now that the Empire is falling we must move quickly. _

Kayupa slid his scope into his thigh pocket of his new stealth suit.

_I must wait until Skar knows the key to the Jentarana. It won't be long now.

* * *

_

Skar Kjoil gazed at the wooden door down in the basement of the temple, it marked an entrance to a part of the temple he had never been to. Something in Force was moving, warning him of change in the future. Something was touching on the very chord of destiny.

As he touched the door the Force hummed inside him, feeding him a sensation like the joy of returning home after a long trip, or to see an end to a long fought battle. To know that you would live on, and not die by someone else's hand.

To feel alive.

Skar's throat clogged. "I've… been here before."

Master Bo-Hi stood behind him, his hands resting carefully at his sides. "No, not quite. But yes, your presence has graced this place a little over two decades ago."

Skar shook his head and leaned himself against the entrance. "I wasn't born then."

"No," the Jedi Master said, "but you were alive. Your mother was pregnant with you when she battled your uncle," the old Jedi Master pointed to the entrance, "in there."

Skar looked over his shoulder at his Master.

And like a whisper in the Force he heard his uncle's voice from the Holocron, when he'd spoken before the Jedi Council. _You still have one Kjoil among you whose honor is intact. Tell my sister that I will meet her on Kryuu. There will I reach my final destiny. _

Skar shook his head, full of confusion. "No, this is Nanh. they fought on Kryuu!"

The Jedi Master stared straight at him. "This isn't Nanh. Nanh doesn't exist."

Skar's mind reeled, his raged emotions almost too much to bear. He felt the tears pressing in the core of his emotions, only wanting to break free and run down his cheeks.

"This, you told me this was Nanh, and I believed you!" Skar stabbed a finger at the Jedi Master's face. "If this is Kryuu, where my uncle and my mother fought, where my uncle died - " Skar looked away in desolation, and despite all his anger, he could not prove the Master wrong. "I want to call you a liar; but my feelings tell me its the truth. I can feel I've been here before." The tears were finally freed. "I can feel it, this place is old in the Force. Full of cold," Skar shivered.

Master Bo-Hi tried not to say anything that might alarm Skar further, which shouldn't have been possible. "Skind Kjoil died here on this world. The Jedi Council agreed that Skind had to be stopped. I was onboard a cruiser in orbit of this planet, as was most of the Jedi Council."

Skar wiped salty tears from his lips. "You promised not to lie to me. Why, Master?"

"I knew back then that I couldn't keep my promise. I did what I did to protect you. I took on the same responsibility that Lwen undertook when he was placed as your guardian. I knew the time would come when you would know. And I know you feel like you belong here, which has made the transition easier on you, and now you've come full circle."

Skar listened while his thoughts tried to piece it all together. "So my uncle came here, waited for my mother on this world. And you were here, watching?"

Master Bo-Hi objected. "There was no way I could interfere. I met your mother for the first time after your mother fought your uncle. I was here as an observer with the Jedi Council." Master Bo-Hi closed his eyes. "Your mother arrived here, and it was believed she might be the only who could help Skind back to sanity. She went to fight him in this temple, falling right into his plan."

"What happened? He won?"

Master Bo-Hi shook his head. "Not exactly. He knew that Sasa would come to fight him. He prepared for it. But during the fight, through her love, he saw his own failure. The treachery he had brought on everyone he loved. He plunged his lightsaber into his own heart, took his own life. But before he died he warned your mother of the oncoming Jedi Purge. Soon after you were born and your mother sent you away with Lwen."

"And she handed the Jentarana over to you at that time too, I suppose."

The Jedi Master nodded. "Skind Kjoil had given Selia Iver's lightsaber to your mother when she began her Jedi training. She told me later that he had wanted it back. It was the only physical object left behind of her."

"So…he was with Selia in the end after all. He joined her in the afterlife?"

Master Bo-Hi looked lost and confused. "I don't know. If he became a full Sith, then yes. If not, he just died as a lost man. A man driven from the light and corrupted by the evil. Faced with the nightmare that had become his life, he decided to end it. The pain and shame was too much and he ended his own life."

Master Bo-Hi looked away, several old memories and emotions being refreshed. "At the time when Skind died, there was a tremor in the Force, Skar. Something touched it like a razor and for a second the Force was dimmed to almost nothing. I felt the Force leave me for a second, only then to return again, just as strong. But something in Skind's touch with the Force was so strong that when it died, a part of the Force died too. A small part but nevertheless it proves that Skind was perhaps one of the strongest Jedi ever to live. His touch was so strong that the Force….vanished for a very short time. The Kjoil are so inept in the Force that when they die, you can feel the sadness of the Force."

Skar wasn't sure he understood. "Are you telling me the Force _mourned _the death of my uncle?"

The Jedi Master nodded. "It sounds strange, but nevertheless, that was how it felt. Grief and sadness was very strong in all the Jedi when your uncle died. The incident with your uncle has never been felt before."

Skar looked around, looking for answers. "Why did you want me to know now? What made you think I was ready?"

The Jedi Master crouched down next to him, and placed his kind palm on Skar's shoulder. "You have a question inside you, which can only be answered by one man. That man is dead, in there are the last steps he ever made. Though he is not anymore of this world, he is of another. His spirit still lingers in there and he will not talk to me. But to you he might. And as you already know he holds the answer we need."

Skar looked up at him. "The answer Kayupa is waiting for on Nar Shaddaa. The key to the Jentarana."

Master Bo-Hi nodded. "You yourself said that the only way of obtaining the key was to talk to Skind Kjoil himself. To talk to his soul. Its in there. If you choose to abandon this to memory, the Jentarana will never see life and its purpose of war will never be resurrected."

Skar's mind was at battle with his emotions. On one side he knew of the Jentarana and how it might help the Galaxy back in shape. Yet his feelings told him that in the end it might do more harm than good. If somehow the weapon was ever used for dark purposes it would be devastating. Skar dreaded the thought and it was the soundest reason he'd found to just walk away.

"It is a hard choice, Master. One I think I cannot make. Kayupa and I, we want to destroy it. Make it go away. But what if it really can be used for good?"

Master Bo-Hi wasn't going to make the choice for him. "That's for you to decide, your legacy, your choice. Do what you feel is the right path. But the future of the Jentarana depends on what you learn in there."

With a heavy heart, Skar pushed open the tall wooden doors and stepped inside. The smell of dust and death hung in his nostrils, as he walked through a dark hall. Rubble laid in his path and there was no light in any of the halls. He wandered inside like a blind man, his hands always touching the walls to find his way. To aid him he blazed his lightsaber as a flame to see in the dark.

He found himself in a huge cylinder shaped room that had no ceiling and no floor, only a walkway that led to a round platform in the center of the room. The platform was the size of a large room. The round walls were decorated with red squares.

Skar walked out on the platform and saw cracks and burnt scars on the platform. Scars from the battle between his mother and his uncle. The battle of Kjoil versus Sith.

_This is the only place. There are no other rooms. _

_He must be here…_

Skar couched down on the floor and reached out to the Force to get a sense of his uncle. He channeled away the dark emotions clouding up inside him, allowing the Force to enter him completely. The universe opened up to him, like a whirlpool of lights, colors, and warmth. Moving around him in circles were vapor trails of dust and smaller particles.

Skar tried to reach out to touch one, but it moved from his grip. Skar moved around in the universe and saw a planet fly past him, like a bird, only to be followed by another and a pair of moons.

Whole galaxies rushed by his head and disappeared in a flash of light. Worlds he'd never seen flew loops around him before drifting off into oblivion. He even saw Nar Shaddaa shoot by, leaving a sense of dread in him. He followed it with his eyes until it vanished in a cloud of blue smoke.

He saw a green planetoid pass overhead, only to be exploded into millions of rock fragments that rained over him. He saw what he knew to be the Death Star explode and it sent out a wave of burning debris in a circle that nearly touched him, the heat coming off the supernova touching him briefly.

Witnessing as life unfolded around him in a greater scheme, he felt the universe working perfectly all around him. Time passed, life ended and life was born. People died and people were born. Memories were made and forgotten.

Then everything around him turned black. Skar opened his eyes, jumped to his feet and found himself on a familiar world. Ignoring the onslaught of rain drowning out the thunders in the distance, he swirled around seeing the gray mountains, the pouring rain and the shots of lightning in the distance. His eyes wouldn't lock onto one thing before being mesmerized by another.

The world resembled something from his worst nightmares. A dreadful planet with uncomfortable conditions. A hellish place where no one would wish to live. Where no possible life could spring.

Other than himself and his family. Having never seen the place on holo, he still knew that this was where he'd been from. Where he'd been born. The home of his family, the home of the Kjoil.

_Ka'ckak. This is where the Kjoil lived. _

_The planet the Jentarana was built to protect._

As he looked around, he became more sure that what he was seeing was only a dream. He knew instantly that the world around him was a figment of his imagination.

It wasn't real.

_This is my dream!_

Skar's head came up as he heard the distant voice again, almost as a whisper inside his mind, inside his dream. Rain was pouring down hard around Skar, wetting his clothes and soaking his hair. Feeling dread, he almost feared being there, because in his dream he had seen what came next; his own death. He shifted on his heel and looked again at the same small rain puddle by his feet, but this time he did recognize the man he saw in its watery reflection.

Except for the beard that Skar hadn't grown, this man was him, only older, the same tattoos were painted over his hands.

_It was me! But the future version of me. The me I am now._

Skar felt his heart starting to pound against his ribcage as he looked up, just as he had in the dream to see a second person. Cloaked in a dark black robe. Hollowed in shadows, the man looked up and this time Skar saw the face under the dripping hood.

A very familiar face.

"Welcome!" Skind Kjoil threw back his hood and Skar saw his uncle's eyes staring right into his soul, looking exactly as he had in the hologram in front of the Jedi Council. The defiant and courageous look. He stood a full head taller than Skar, his face slightly transparent and ghastly. Skar felt an uncontrollable urge to pull out the lightsaber to defend himself. The ghost of Skind Kjoil, hovering before him like a deity, was the Sith version of him, not the good.

Wishing to make his intentions clear, Skar stepped forward and opened his arms to show no hostility. "I'm your nephew."

Skind Kjoil's piercing eyes went over him, and then blinked with surprise. "Sasa's child?"

Skar heard the voice again, the very copy of his own. Skar nodded. "My mother."

Skind Kjoil smiled. "So, you've come to see me at last?"

Skar didn't understand. "At last?"

Skind Kjoil rubbed his face with his ghostly hand and then turned his side to Skar. They stood ten feet from each other, but it felt like miles to Skar. His uncle seemed so distant. "I've waited for this moment for almost thirty years. You've been here a long time, nephew. But you haven't come to see me before now."

"You knew I was here?"

Skind Kjoil nodded, and when he spoke his voice was soft and nurturing. "The Force hides nothing. Although I must admit I can't sense your thoughts or emotions like I used to be able to. I'm caught in the spirit world. But I can feel the Force, and it told me someone in my family was near."

"I came to you to ask you a question."

Almost like a split-personality Skind's mood changed in a heartbeat. The infamous Kjoil snarled like a caged animal. "What makes you think I'll help you, _Jedi_?"

Skar was anxious, there were still traces of Sith in Skind Kjoil's spirit. In that haunted shell of a man destined to live out his never-ending days in a dark chamber. "Because of the good I know is in your heart."

Skind Kjoil spat. "You sound _just _like your mother!"

"No, this is what I see, my belief." Skar stepped forward to show he wasn't afraid of this Sith ghost. "I believed in you. A Kjoil who became a Jedi, a Jedi who defied everyone, a strong man," Skar held out his arms, "a man who fell in love."

Skind Kjoil's hand moved towards his lightsaber, a precise copy of Skar's, but he seemed to hesitate.

"You can't kill me, uncle." Skar said strongly. "Not in here. Your powers are useless here. Besides, you could have killed my mother here twenty years ago and taken me with her, but you didn't."

Skind Kjoil allowed his hand to stray from the lightsaber. "No, I couldn't kill her."

Skar began to feel less afraid, not that he had convinced himself that the ghost could not harm him. "Will you answer my question?"

Skind Kjoil crossed his arms. "Ask."

Thunder bellowed around them, touching down in the canyons between the deep mountains. The rain still washed over them. Skar swallowed hard and summoned the courage to form his question. "The Jentarana."

Skind Kjoil's face turned sour before looking away. "A name from long ago."

Skar shivered. "I need the key."

Skind Kjoil turned back to him, this time with hate lashing out from his eyes, lighting striking in the distance. "I am a prisoner of death, a prisoner of emotions and destiny, the curse in all genes. My past cannot be undone, nor my future."

Skar felt silver running through his body, a very old fear suddenly new and fresh. _Those words, they were in my dream too. I'm living my dream._

Skind Kjoil looked out over the raging storms of Ka'ckak, sadly reminiscing. "Tell me, nephew. Is the world a better one for my death?"

Skar shook his head. "No."

Skind Kjoil smiled sarcastically. "Do the Jedi long for the Sith to return so they can do epic battles?"

"No," Skar whispered, "but the world misses inspirational people. People who are worth the respect and envy. A leader. Someone to follow."

Skind Kjoil looked over at him and Skar recognized that kind but firm look. The look of the old Skind, the way he favored remembering his uncle, as a kind man, not a demon. "Idols always disappoint, boy. You'd do well to remember that. I wanted to change the world. But I have found that the only thing one can be sure of changing is oneself. I am merely a part of all that I have met."

Skar thought of Kayupa, he'd gone off alone in isolation before, and now he'd left Skar behind when they were supposed to go together. Skar couldn't help but feel hurt. Felt a tear pressing its way behind his eyes. Skind Kjoil's own legend had been a disappointment to Skar at times too.

Skind Kjoil smiled sadly. "I've…been here so long. But I've seen much through the eyes of the Force. I've seen faces of friends turn old and gray, I've seen them die. Seen everything that was lost along the way. All I have left is my memories…but even they fade and blow away." He looked over at Skar. "Is war still crippling our love?"

Skar was amazed at the way this ghost, this nonexistent man, was wondering about the state of the universe. Why should he care for it anymore?

"Yes," he whispered.

Skind Kjoil didn't seem surprised at all. And he had no reason to, war had always existed. It was even older than him. "So it was, so it will ever be. The eternal struggle between right and wrong. They are the two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time, playing on chords will vibrate in eternity."

"War serves its purpose," Skar said.

Skind Kjoil reared his head back and laughed. Then he looked at Skar with a frenzied joy. "Whoever told you that, should be shot. You sound like my old Master Sdah. War is the cost of peace, he said. He always said that war was necessary for our lives to move on. To have results." Skind Kjoil sighed. "But its not true, he was wrong, and so are you. War, like science, always brings great damage, sometimes irrevocable damage. And despite what everyone thinks it is never the strongest of the species that survive a war, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. The ones who are most able to adapt to a world torn by war and bloodshed. An unnatural world." Skind's face lit up slightly. "I've seen true peace, nephew, there is no such thing as slaughter without end."

Skar began to feel the happiness, the warm exhilarating feeling of being united with someone long gone. Someone he'd feared. Someone he'd loved. Someone he'd missed. And all the feelings of longing for his own family suddenly came back to him, and he realized this was the closest he'd ever come to someone from his own family.

Skar's throat clamed shut, as his eyes began to water again. "War…gave you peace."

Skind Kjoil walked over to his nephew and his hands rested on Skar's shoulders. They were gentle, almost not there, shadowy. Skar looked into his uncle's piercing, intelligent eyes. Familiar eyes. Sad eyes.

"I am a ghost. An undying shadow. A decaying light. What peace have I?"

Skar looked up at him. "What about Selia? I thought you two were to join in the afterlife?"

Skind Kjoil nodded. "It didn't happen."

"Why?"

Skind just stood there for a long time, holding his nephew's shoulders. "The Jentarana. Its funny how death teaches you how you should have lived. Shows you what mistakes you've made, it did in my case. It holds me in this shadow form. It blocks me from being with Selia."

"How?"

Skind Kjoil let go of his shoulders and walked a little away from Skar. His fists clutched and Skar felt malevolence coming from his uncle. His lips reeled back to expose his tightly clenched teeth. "It has my soul." He looked down at his hands, cursing the terror and grief they'd constructed. "It is me. The Jentarana _is_ me."

Skar understood. "Because it has a part of your soul you can't get out of here. You can't be with Selia."

"Right. Only once the Jentarana is gone, can I go." Skind Kjoil looked at him, and Skar saw determination in his uncle's eyes. "Only _you _can free me. You're my only hope."

Skar looked out of the raving mountains, at the falling rain. "But I can't get out of here. We have no ships. And you still haven't told me the key to the Jentarana."

Skind Kjoil smiled, a smile of deception and mischief. "No, you will know when you are there. You must live on to get to the truth."

Skar was puzzled. "So the key _isn't _a thing? It has something to do directly with the Jentarana."

Again Skind Kjoil gave little help. "More or less. One more secret maintains. There is one thing you still haven't learned."

"What?"

Skind Kjoil smiled. "You are not the first to visit me. The other I could do no more than reveal to him his most inner darkest secret. He will stand in your way and confront you. This someone has been lying to you, has played you like a fool. This someone who has driven you to this moment."

Skar nodded. _Master Bo-Hi. _Master Bo-Hi himself had admitted to have visisted this tomb but claimed that Skind hadn't spoken to him. But with all the lies coming from Master Bo-Hi Skar suddenly found it hard not to think of the man's every word as a lie.

Another thing occured to him; the outcome of the dream had not come to life. He hadn't died. Skind Kjoil hadn't attacked him. The dream hadn't come true.

"I had a dream about this moment. But in the dream you killed me."

Skind Kjoil shook his head. "That was not me."

Skar's heart froze. "So...that moment is still coming?"

"Yes."

Skar wanted to ask if his uncle knew who the attacker in the dream had been, but he already knew it to be Master Bo-Hi. His glory-search would lead to devastating results, Skar feared. "Lwen once told me about how great you were. I'm glad to find he was right."

Skind Kjoil's brow raised at that name. "Lwen. Now there was a man with dedication. Tell me, did he ever lose faith in his path?"

Skar nodded. "Once. Badly."

Skind Kjoil shrugged. "Well, he was only human," he said with a sarcastic smile. "You know, your mother, she never lost faith in me, she always believed I could be saved. Unlike your father, my apprentice. But he was still loyal. He chose to let me be on my own, didn't come to see me. He respected my path and didn't try to stop me."

Skar smiled. "You four loved each other."

"Yes, love was there once. But in the end we were all fighting for different things, and only your mother's dream has come true."

Skar felt pride inside of him, felt all the airs on his body stand up. "Then I am a Jedi."

"And a strong one. Whatever comes in your path, you must greet it with open arms."

Skar smiled nervously. "Even if it means fighting…and killing?"

Skind Kjoil nodded. "War is brutal business. But you must always remember; there is no shame in fighting for what you believe in. If a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live. From this moment forward you must meet the world with resolve. You have to forget past mistakes, forget all your failures. Forget everything except what you're going to do, and do it."

Gray misty fog surrounded them like smoke and Skar felt an end coming to it all.

Skind Kjoil looked behind him into the fog and then smiled to Skar. "That's my ride."

"I will free you, uncle. You have my word."

Skind Kjoil saluted Skar, then he turned and walked off into the fog. Skar watched as the legend disappeared in the fogy blur.

Then the world around him tilted and he was once again crouched on the platform in the center of the silo. He rubbed weariness out of his face and rose. He still had no clue about the key to the Jentarana but he knew that he owed it to his uncle to destroy it. It bound Skind Kjoil to his lifeless existence. Skar loved his uncle, for whatever evil he may have done in the past, he was still his uncle.

Kayupa was right; the Jentarana had to be destroyed. And Master Bo-Hi had to convinced of the wrong path he was taking.

_I must find a way to alert Master Bo-Hi about what he's doing. _

Without warning, the platform started moving down into the chamber. He saw the entrance fall out of view. He didn't doubt he could jump up there again, but a curiosity drove him to see where the platform would take him.

The room darkened around him as he was taken several levels into the ground. Then projectors lit up beneath him, showering the floor in a bright light. The platform reached the basement and Skar felt it pound into place. The projectors around the floor were still directed towards the ground. All he could see was the bright metal surface of the basement.

_What the-?_

Then the projectors around the rim of the floor moved up and showered him in light. Skar held up his hand for cover as the projectors continued to show him the rest of the room.

Of the hangar.

Skar gasped and swallowed his uneasiness. A Pursuer-class Enforcement ship stood perched in the center of the hangar. The ship was basically a long, thin box stabilized by a port-side wing and maneuvering cluster. The bridge was situated at the front of the rectangle. The ship looked ancient, something antic, but still it had a clean, fresh and lethal quality about it. It looked fast. Three landing-clamps secured it tightly and magnetically to the hangar floor. Its shine reminded of him of the _Koniduz_.

Skar whistled enthusiastically and crossed the hangar to the ship. The landing ramp on the ship lowered upon his approach, as if to tempt him into entering the ship. He reached out and touched the ship, creating fine lines in the thick coat of dust that covered the entire ship, revealing spotless hull beneath. Through his fingers and his talent in psychometry he read the past of the ship.

It was the _Witty_.

Skind Kjoil's private ship.

* * *

The testing room was built like an arena. A wide circular room, with no visible ceiling, wide enough for an AT-AT to stand and walk around in. It was placed in the lower levels of the storage facility, the designated arena where they came to test out new weapons. It hadn't seen usage in more than two years now, Sasori Dragus had built it years ago, for testing of new weapons and equipment.

Usually it housed many simulators and hologram projectors but they were all removed now. The metallic floor was scarred with gray ashy marks of explosions and combat. Bloodstains had dried on the walls leaving an eerie feel of death in the chamber. The lights were dimmed so one could only see three feet in front of him.

The ten bodyguards in Sasori's private guard came running in from the only entrance and exit to the chamber. The door sealed shut behind them, locked tight, and whatever fate they might have, would come to life in this room. The bodyguards were packed with the strongest armor Sasori had designed, based on a strange metallic alloy that was light as paper. Every part of their bodies was protected.

Over their shoulders they carried heavy succession blaster-rifles, also designed by Dragus. On their belts and shoulder-straps they carried detonators, vibroblades and ammunition for their rifles. Each of them also carried a back-up blaster on his shin. Their helmets had night-vision, thermal vision, and even sonic-radar to warn them of any threat.

They had chosen this test of out of their own free will, after being offered to participate by Raydoen. Sasori had had mixed feelings about it, he knew his men were involved out of pride, they wanted to show Raydoen a thing or two.

They centered themselves in the room and used their helmet's built-in scopes for tracking down their prey. They checked every corner of the arena and felt like they'd been played for a joke.

There was nothing there.

Then it came. A song from within the middle-ground between light and shadow, a symphony carried on a wind of grudge;

_We've chosen to be here - all pain is an illusion - for we are eternal._

Mayhem ensued. The attack came from all sides, it seemed. The first guard went down with his throat slit open, and blood spraying into the air, gushing on his comrades. The blood stained their helmets and a few of them were momentarily blinded.

The dying guard failed to comprehend how a blade had cut through his throat armor, but before the guard had even touched the ground, a second had his head decapitated and another thick stream of blood washed out all over the floor.

Two seconds, two dead.

Once they'd wiped the blood from their helmets the remaining guards started firing. Their rifles roared rapid fire across every inch of the arena, in every possible direction. Some of them resorted to detonators, throwing them into whatever dark corner they could find and the room lit up with explosions and endless flashes of gunfire.

The men screamed in fear, their panic taking such a hold of them that they didn't care if they hit their own comrades in the chaos.

None of them could imagine what monster they had been sent in to test themselves against this time, but they knew the only thing that was going to save them was the pounding rifle in their hands.

After a while many of them realized that they'd hit nothing and stopped firing. One by one more of them followed and looked around, confused. The room dimmed significantly without the glare of their rifles. There was no sign of blood other than that of their fallen comrades. The walls were laced with holes from blasterfire but not a single sign of their attacker.

They split up into two groups, checking their separate ends of the arena.

They had barely moved away from each other before a shadow swooped down like a predator in the small gap between them. Both groups turned and fired at the shadow but it moved too quickly for them.

Once the shadow had pulled its latest victim with it up into the darkness, they realized too late that they were actually firing directly at each other and a guard caught in the crossfire was ripped apart by friendly fire.

"Cease fire!" one of them shouted, before the shadow swooped down again and pulled that trooper from the floor. He screamed and fought its grip. He disappeared momentarily from the light but when he appeared again, falling from the blackness of the ceiling, his body was in two pieces and his intestines sprawled like fat snakes over the floor, adding to the carnage and horror.

Silence followed, silence and prayers to many different gods. Smoke had risen from blastershots and explosions, and blood waved over the floor in a river of dark red. Everyone stared at each other for answers but everywhere the same face looked back at them, a face filled with fear.

One guard's boot slipped in a pool blood and he never got back up. A blade chopped down in his forehead and the blade retracted itself all the way back to his neck, leaving his head wide open, spewing red and yellow brain-tissue.

The remaining soldiers turned towards the man, lining up the rifles at the darkness behind him, but the shadow had already vanished by then.

Next time the attack came from directly behind them. One of the bodyguards was reaching for a new energy-clip when his hand was cut off, leaving a bloody stump of bones and ripped tissue. He screamed in terror as his own blood sprayed all over his armor. The wild shadow then swirled around him, cutting his throat open in a circle, before vanishing again.

The guard closest to him rolled away from the attack and came up with his rifle blasting at everything that moved, even if that meant his own comrades. A shadow attacked him from behind and with two lazy chops of a red-stained blade his chest was opened and he clattered down hard on the floor, his legs still twitching.

Then the attacker vanished briefly into the shadows again, but his blade came flying through the shot-filled air and slashed through a rifle and its owner before flying right back into the darkness from where it had come from.

Bodies laid in unnatural positions, body parts and limbs were tripping guards over and ricocheting blasts struck already dead corpses.

One guard fell to his knees and when he tried to get back up, his throat was gashed from behind and blood sprayed into his own face.

Another guard made it to the door hoping it wasn't sealed, but his feet were kicked away beneath him and he stumbled to the floor. He rolled sideways to shoot his assailant but hidden in a blur of motion two blades sliced through his face like cutting in air and the man's body spasmed in a dance of death.

The two last remaining guards filed together and tried to avoid looking at their fallen comrades. They exchanged clips and readied for action. It was impossible to spot movement in the death cries and screaming of their savagely slaughtered friends. Their hands trembled with fear and they confessed in secret to themselves that they would go out fighting to the death.

And so they did.

The blade came hovering on the air and sliced through the nearest guard's chest. Blood splashed out from his chest and from the hole on other side where the blade exited between his shoulder blades. As the guard screamed and turned around, the blood sprayed from both sides of him, making him a living fountain. The remaining guard followed the blade as it flew back to its owner in the shadows. Then he unleashed hell at the shadow, but hid nothing but wall.

As the shadow finally did reveal itself, it leaped onto the bundle of corpses it had produced, with two blood-dripping blades in hand.

It was right then that the guard ran out of shots.

The shadow slowly rose to his full height, flung out his hands in cruciform and laughed. The mocking and evil sound echoed and boomed through the arena of death. The guard reached for his shin-blaster, but his hand was severed in midair by a wayward blade. The blade continued onwards down and sliced through the guard's kneecap. The guard screamed in agony and held out his remaining hand and the bloody other stump of his wrist to plead the assassin to stop.

The gloating assassin smiled and jumped on the guard, crushing him to the bloodied floor. A clawed bony hand flung off the helmet from the man's head. The guard looked up into the glowing red eyes that burned in the sockets of nature's greatest evil.

"Embrace this moment…"

And as the guard closed his eyes and tried to block out the sight, he felt a set of razor sharp teeth dig into his throat. He felt his own warm blood streaming down his chest and neck and wanted to scream but he couldn't. Inside the assassin's mouth was a gulp of red and bleeding meat.

The guard's windpipe.

"Alright! You've made your point!"

The lights flickered on and the room exploded in brilliance under powerful projectors. The carnage of bodies piled upon each other made Sasori Dragus want to heave, and not just out of disgust, but also of emotional distress. These men had been his trusted guards for several years. He didn't know why he'd agreed to let Raydoen train against his best bodyguards, maybe it had been a foolish hope that Raydoen would end up dead. He should have known better, Raydoen was more lethal than any weapon Sasori had ever designed.

Raydoen Jayant raised himself from the bleeding heap of the last guard and spat the bloody flesh from his mouth. It landed at Sasori's boot.

"I _love _the smell of battle, the touch of blade and flesh, the spray of the blood." Raydoen sheathed his blades and walked away from the corpse, strolling towards Sasori. "If you listen to the warrior in yourself, Inferior, you would understand the pleasure in this."

Sasori bowed his head. "If only it was the enemy we were fighting, Master."

Raydoen laughed, his red eyes radiating perverse enjoyment. "All blood is alike, only the taste is different."

Sasori glowered at the vampire. "These men weren't enemies, Master. They were _my _men!"

Raydoen shrugged, licked his fangs and spat a gobble of blood on the floor. "Blood knows no loyalty." Raydoen started walking past him, the smell of sweat and blood oozing from him.

Sasori followed him out of the tomb. "The transport is here, Master. I've alerted the crew and the pilots. You ordered two starfighters to follow the _Offeyyu_. Although Admiral Stamper specifically ordered us to bring only _one _ship."

Raydoen didn't care. "He is not my superior."

"But he is our employer."

"One's strength is not limited to the work we do. Power exists on all planes. Admiral Stamper will have to realize that we don't trust him any more than he trusts us." Raydoen pulled out one of his blades and licked it clean of blood. "I've also moved twenty of our mercenaries onboard the _Offeyyu_. Admiral Stamper must understand we won't come unguarded."

Sasori nodded, knowing it was true. "So you're suspecting a double cross?"

"Always." Raydoen laughed, a laugh of mistakable joy and excitement. "Most adventurous times ahead, Inferior."

Sasori forced himself to not show his worry. "I think so too, Master."

Raydoen sheathed his blade and wiped his mouth clean of blood. "Pack your things, Inferior. The _Offeyyu _has arrived and Admiral Stamper wants his weapon."

* * *

Kayupa clipped his lowering harness to the clamp running along the ramp of the _Koniduz_. The harness itself was attached to his belt with a firm elastic cord. Kayupa looked down the open ramp and saw the newly arrived transport ship, carrying the Jentarana, some two hundred feet below him.

Kayupa tugged at the cord, it held.

He looked over his shoulder at his newly purchased protocol droid. Protocol droids were programmed in etiquette and equipped with formidable language skills, they assisted diplomats and politicians and also served as aides and companions for high-ranking officials. Kayupa had modified this model to pilot the _Koniduz _on a suicide mission. They came in as many shapes and sizes, but most were humanoid.

Its silver metallic body stood out in the cramped and dirty living quarters. "2L, you've got my recorded message."

The droid nodded, its glowing eyes fading in color. "I will transmit it to Nanh upon your departure, Master."

"Good."

Kayupa inhaled smoggy air and fueled it through his determination. Confidence bloomed at the seed and a beautiful flower blossomed inside his heavy heart. Kayupa allowed his body to tip over, his body falling some two hundred feet vertically into the air.

Falling, the rain around him seemed to move slower than him. His stealth suit made him seem like a blur in the backdrop of the gray clouds if anyone was looking. Unless they were looking for him, they wouldn't see him.

He saw the transport ship coming closer, and closer. His bandana trailed behind along with the cord unfolding like a writhing snake. Kayupa held the cord-limit meter in his hand, waiting for the right moment.

Kayupa closed his eyes.

_Its funny how my life suddenly seems to be at an end. I see fulfillment in the distance, like a rising sun, turning the clouds all purple and yellow. With it comes a destiny left to ensure._

Kayupa felt the cord tightening, as it ran out of line, and just as he was snapped back hard, he unclipped it from his belt and fell the last ten feet to the hull of the _Offeyyu_. He came down hard, but managed to grab hold of a ledge and prevented himself from falling over the curved plating.

He looked up at the _Koniduz _among the dark clouds and pouring rain. The cord was being pulled back inside the ramp, and the ramp closed. Soon after the _Koniduz _powered up on its repulsor lift and flew away.

Kayupa unleashed a second cord and secured it to the ledge, then rolled himself over the hull, coming down over its left flank. He fell into air once again, but the turn of the hull swung him closer to the _Offeyyu_, he pounded against the side hull, two feet from the hatch he'd aimed for.

He'd studied the _Offeyyu _briefly but knew that a separate hangar was situated on the left flank, accessible by a second hatch. Kayupa lit his lightsaber and carved open the hatch. He jumped inside fast and pulled himself up against a bulkhead, just as the emergency system kicked in, and a pressure door sealed the gap behind him.

Inside the separate hangar, Kayupa ran, silently, for cover behind a green X-Wing starfighter. With a quick assessment he counted three guards in the hangar, and two pilots pulling off their flightsuits by their lockers.

Only one way in, only one way out.

Kayupa ran his hand over his beard, working to find a way. Below him, in the floor, he could feel the entire ship tremble. They'd entered space now. He had a clue about where they were going, the name Soliton. He had checked it to be a planet inside the Outer Rim, not far from Gamorr.

Hopefully the droid, 2L, was still following him. If they discovered the ship, they'd destroy it and think him dead. Even if they hailed it, the droid would play his recording and they'd still blast it. No matter what they did, the _Koniduz _was doomed.

Kayupa felt the tight fabric of his uniform at his elbows and his knees. This was smaller than his old one, it fit him, but only just barely. The bandana was new. The blaster was new. The lightsaber was new. A new man.

With an old mission.

Kayupa tugged out his comlink from under his stealth suit. "2L, I've reached the sneak point, send the transmission now."

"Yes, Master."

Kayupa put away the comlink again as he crawled behind crates and sneaked past the pilots, left the hangar and pushed himself up against the bulkhead in the hall. The corridor went two ways, left and straight ahead. Left lead to a turbolift that went through the entire ship. Straight ahead led to the crew's living quarters. Kayupa went left, more options that way. He needed a console to find out how to get to the Jentarana.

Kayupa stepped inside the lift and punched the switch.

_Soon Skar will know. Time is running out. _

The door closed and the dark lift descended down into the bowels of the ship.

* * *

On the bridge of the _Offeyyu_, slouched in his command chair, Raydoen Jayant watched the emergency light blink on his console for a second, only then to stop. Apparently a breach had been detected in the lower hangar. The light had vanished again, signifying that the breach had been sealed.

Though he had expected such a thing, it still sent a shiver down his spine. And he knew then that there was no mistake about it.

The Jedi was here.

Wanting to confirm his hunch, Raydoen turned to Dr. Oteyu who sat in the navigator's chair to his left. "Is the Jedi ship following us?"

Dr. Oteyu leaned forward in his chair and read from his screen. "Ship registered as the _Koniduz _right in our wake. He's flying too close," Dr. Oteyu frowned, "like he wants us to see him."

Raydoen turned back to view the stars outside and the Nal Hutta planet hovering outside the screen, his right hand patting the dangi knifes in his belt. _Koniduz, the name of the legendary Roeeveri snake. How fine a prey it will be for the Offeyyu, the Dfieeluain Blood God. _Raydoen smiled maliciously. _Religions are about to clash, the time of change. A time of power and war. _

Raydoen scratched his goatee. "How many life signatures onboard the Jedi ship?"

Dr. Oteyu tapped his keyboard, scratched his head. "None, Master. There are no entities onboard."

For a moment Raydoen felt admiration. _What deception. _"A drone. He is already onboard."

Dr. Oteyu didn't seem comforted. "Onboard this ship, Master?"

Raydoen knew that the Jedi would come to him, and they would fight. And the Jedi had fallen right into the trap that Raydoen had constructed. The Jedi was impotent while on the _Offeyyu_, the mercenaries and guards were securing the hyperdrive at that very moment. The Jedi would have to make his move when they arrived on Soliton.

"Yes. He has breached. He's onboard the _Offeyyu_."

Dr. Oteyu rose from his seat, instantly panicked. "But, Master, then he'll attempt to steal the weapon!"

Raydoen put up a palm, never lost his smile. "He doesn't know the Jentarana can't fly in space. He'll wait for us to land." Raydoen licked his fangs. "Let the ship follow us."

Dr. Oteyu didn't look happy. Raydoen suspected the _Koniduz _would follow and that the Jedi hoped they would see this as evidence that he wasn't onboard.

They would meet and Raydoen's fate would be carved into the fabric of time soon enough.

"Make the jump to Soliton. We have an appointment with destiny."

* * *

The Duel Chamber had been cleared out of all the usual training-equipment. All the bars and mats had been shuffled aside, leaning against the far wall. Skar took notice of all the candles, a circle of red candles burned around the center of the room, illuminating the domed ceiling with the murals of ancient Jedi battles. Skar looked closely at the murals, his knowledge of them updated with the facts that it had been Sith that had constructed this temple, and that Sith had created these murals. Skar still had no idea which battles they were supposed to depict, but found himself frowning knowing it was no longer the sacred Jedi temple he'd thought it was, instead it'd been a haven for the wicked.

Skar walked into circle of lights, examining the scene. Taking in the feel of the room, he prepared for his test. His combat-training was almost complete he knew, Master Bo-Hi had told that this would be his final test. And that test was to take place any minute now.

It crossed his mind momentarily that he didn't know how much this test actually meant. Though Master Bo-Hi was wise and strong in certain aspects of the Force, there were areas where Skar felt him to be lacking. The standard Master Bo-Hi was searching for in him might not be all that he wanted to be.

Maybe Master Bo-Hi was wrong to assess whether Skar was really ready to be a Knight. Certainly the Master had no knowledge of how the Kjoil deemed the apprentice's progress in training.

All Master Bo-Hi could teach him was Jedi training and Skar knew that it would not finish his training as a Kjoil, only the Jedi side which he found it hard not to frown upon. He was, or would be, stronger than any Jedi.

Master Bo-Hi's training had been a great asset alongside the Holocron's knowledge of his family. He doubted he would have advanced as much as he had, without the aid of Master Bo-Hi. Master Bo-Hi had given him the physical side of the Kjoil's role, he had taught Skar the use of the lightsaber, and the methods of how to use the Force in such dire situations as close combat.

Skar had learned much of history from the Holocron, but it would never have taught him close combat as well as Master Bo-Hi had. The two sources of information had branched together and molded him into the man he was now.

Skar settled into a crouch, calming his thoughts. His hands rested on his knees as he patiently waited for the test to begin. Skar knew that he had been destined to complete this test. His heritage from his family had been the gift of the Force, and that gift required him to use it as best as he could, as a Kjoil. His Kjoil blood had once been one the most memorable of the Jedi in the days of the Old Republic. He had a lot to live up to, and a lot to learn still. He knew that his feeling of the Force, his ability to use it fluidly, was a sign that he was on the right path.

Skar's hand waved through his short hair. He had grown fond of the Jedi Apprentice-style, it prevented his hair from obstructing his view in close combat, while Skar used the bandana to keep sweat from getting into his eyes.

When seeing the ghost of Skind Kjoil, Skind had had very short hair. Recently Skar had noticed how very similar to his uncle he looked, not so much in hairstyle but they owned the same eyes. Skar had once shaved his beard to avoid looking like his uncle, but after meeting him Skar felt no shame in his heritage.

Master Bo-Hi stepped in, dressed in full cloak and hood. He stopped a few paces from Skar, at the edge of the candles. "Do you believe you are ready?"

Skar replied softly, "Yes, Master."

Master Bo-Hi smiled, a smile of pride but also of recognition. His presence was so strong and wise, which contradicted Skar's deep feeling that the Master would perhaps soon become an enemy.

The Jedi Master let his hood fall back over his shoulders, took off his cloak and let it fall without a sound to the floor. Master Bo-Hi's right hand fell down on the cylinder, attached to his belt. He held it at his side.

Skar stood and pulled his arms out of his cloak's sleeves, leaving the cloak hanging by the belt around his waist, baring his strong, muscular upper body. Then he clipped the lightsaber from his belt. He knew the Master would frown on him wearing the cloak the way he did; he also knew he didn't care.

His growing dislike and suspicion regarding Master Bo-Hi had pushed him into stages of provocation. In same ways he knew it was childish and stupid, but he wanted reactions out of the Master. He wanted signs.

In perfect unison and coordination they placed themselves in their ready-stance. They choose the same stance, their handles beside their faces with a clear view of the adversary.

"The goal is to find control of the Force, use it to your best need, in situations where your life may be threatened. The Force, when in battle, can be used for many things. You can predict my moves, feel my intentions, sense where I'm going, _when _I'm going and where I will strike. If your confidence in the Force is strong enough, you need not worry about my blade. Do you understand?"

Skar rested his shoulders, and tightened both hands on the lightsaber. "I understand, Master."

"Then show me."

Master Bo-Hi bent down in his knees, and jumped at Skar in a leap that brought him several feet above his head. Master Bo-Hi's green blade lit up in midair as he let out a quick strike at Skar's head. Skar rolled backwards and threw himself on his back, lighting up his flame-colored blade to parry the strike.

Master Bo-Hi landed a few feet behind Skar, whom jumped to a stand and then leaped sideways, leaving the area Master Bo-Hi wanted to attack. Watching his breath and air intake, Skar circled around to strike Master Bo-Hi in the back, but Master Bo-Hi immediately leaped forward and left Skar's target area.

Master Bo-Hi landed on his feet and pivoted to meet Skar head on, as the Kjoil made his move. Master Bo-Hi parried Skar's blow, brushed it away and clear and then used the opening to slash at Skar's side.

Swirling away from the cut, Skar slowed his breathing, ducked beneath a second attack, and struck at Master Bo-Hi's exposed weakness. Master Bo-Hi ducked too and jumped backwards, landing a few meters away.

Skar stood still a moment, calming the rouse he felt, then gripped his weapon better and closed in on Master Bo-Hi.

Master Bo-Hi pressured Skar with a series of fast, low cuts, that Skar had little difficulty in deflecting. Skar sidestepped and lunged at Master Bo-Hi who again circled and deflected the blade. Their blades meshed and sparked together for a while, illuminating the room beyond with flashes of fire and green, as Skar and Master Bo-Hi both pressed against each other.

Skar smiled through his teeth and used all of his strength to try and tip Master Bo-Hi over. Master Bo-Hi didn't budge.

Finally Skar saw the futility, and disengaged his blade. Instead he placed a foot on Master Bo-Hi's chest and kicked him back. Master Bo-Hi hadn't expected that and took two steps back, but never lost his footing or his control.

Skar jumped after him, cutting sideways in midair. The blade hummed and swooshed as it flew right over Master Bo-Hi's head. He circled the cylinder in his hand and leaned perfectly into a right cut which Master Bo-Hi evaded. Skar became more and more impressed with himself.

"Your Kjoil blood flows too eagerly in your veins"

Skar set himself. _Concentration and focus. Pride is of no use in combat. _He lifted his blade back up and instead of running, he slowly closed in on Master Bo-Hi using careful steps.

Their blades touched once, and were quickly drawn back. Once again they touched and then retracted.

Master Bo-Hi nodded behind his lightsaber. "Improvisation is important, but think through."

Wishing to earn his merit, Skar attacked with a long series of easy-to-parry hits that Master Bo-Hi had no trouble in deflecting. Skar could sense that Master Bo-Hi was confused with Skar choosing such an easy tactic.

Master Bo-Hi ended the show with a strong parry, and a kick to Skar's side. Skar fell down on the floor, close to one of the red candles, nearly burning his hair. Skar spat, and groaned at his own failure. He exhaled and laid there for a while, his chest rising and falling at quick intervals.

"Why such a tactic?"

Skar grinned. "I'm too eager, it got the best of me. I wasn't listening. I'm sorry, Master."

"I hope this is one lesson you have learned. Haste kills faster than patience."

Skar sat up on his elbows. "Did I fail the test?"

Master Bo-Hi prepared himself again in a new stance. Skar got the point, the test wasn't over, and jumped to a stand, his blade still on the ground.

"Calm yourself, allow yourself to be reopened to the Force."

Skar flexed his fingers and allowed the Force to reenter him, warming him and refreshing his weary body. The Force powered him and he felt ready once again, even more ready than he had been before.

The lightsaber twitched on the floor for a few seconds, before flying off the ground. Skar pivoted 360 degrees to his left, gripping the lightsaber in midair at his back and ending up where he started, the lightsaber and mind ready for combat.

Skar joined the battle again, as their session continued for some time. Neither ever got the upper hand, nor did any of them try before the right time came. Skar had impressed Master Bo-Hi greatly, still he longed for the battle to end. He longed to know if he had proved himself, though he had a feeling he had. He felt amazing, his moves were cleaner, faster, and more precise than ever. His defenses were perfect. No one could get past him.

The fight reached its close, as they merged in a series of close combat-situations, they could practically touch each other, but their blades would have cut their hands off if they tried.

Master Bo-Hi reached back with his blade to push Skar back, but Skar pulled up his blade and parried the attack with his lightsaber held vertically. As Master Bo-Hi's blade struck against it, Skar pushed the blade forwards, leaning it along Master Bo-Hi's blade towards his chest. Master Bo-Hi realized this a little too late and pushed Skar back brutally with the Force.

Skar fell two steps back, feeling like a six foot wall had slammed into him, his face dripping with sweat. Little droplets of perspiration ran over Master Bo-Hi's forehead. Skar shut off his lightsaber, and finally allowed the fatigue to conquer him.

Master Bo-Hi shut off his blade too, a disgruntled look on his face. "Why did you shut off the blade? You're not finished yet."

Skar raised a finger to point at Master Bo-Hi's chest. Master Bo-Hi looked down to see a burnmark from the tip of Skar's lightsaber on the fabric of his clothes. If Skar had gotten one centimeter closer, Master Bo-Hi would have been dead.

Master Bo-Hi's fingers felt the burnt fabric then clipped his lightsaber onto his belt. "Point taken."

Skar chuckled, grasping for a breath. "I passed?"

"Skar, you are by far the best combatant I have ever encountered. You had perfect control and you were quickly to apply your moves, to improve them once you sensed my pattern of defense." Master Bo-Hi laughed softly. "Of course the fact that you burnt my clothes, says a lot. I've never been that close before."

Skar rose to his feet and clipped his lightsaber to his belt. He bowed once. "Then I think it is time I retie, Master."

Master Bo-Hi stepped over and squeezed his shoulder. "Me too, my young friend. Though I think this will take some time to heal." Master Bo-Hi smiled warmly.

Skar tried desperately not to think that if he wanted to, he could have killed Master Bo-Hi in that last move. He didn't want to think of Master Bo-Hi as inferior to him but the signs were all there. But he'd always known he was destined to be greater than any of the Jedi.

He just didn't like seeing it so clearly. "Do you mean the fabric or your pride, Master?" Skar joked.

The warmth in the Master's smile increased. "Both. Skar, the time has come for me to grant you your new title."

Skar looked at him, feeling a hard pounding of his heart. A pound of pride and achievement. "What?"

Master Bo-Hi rested a hand on his shoulder. "I have no more to teach you."

Skar's head was filled with joy, a joy he didn't know how to express. "So I'm a Knight?"

Master Bo-Hi only nodded.

He felt like he was overflowing with power and pride. And purpose. "Then we can go to Kayupa now. And find the Jentarana."

Master Bo-Hi's black metallic filters stared at him for a heartbeat, then he nodded. "Of course."

Running as fast as he could down the hallways of the temple didn't help his heart to slow down, but Skar accepted that. His heart was pounding, his eyes wanted to cry out of joy, but his wide smile wouldn't let them. Trying to find the right way to celebrate his rise to Knight, he thought only of two people he wished to share the joy. Only one of them was nearby.

"Shinran!" Skar shouted as he entered her room.

She was standing at the foot of her bed, looking scared and shocked.

"I made it! I'm a Knight!"

* * *

Sasori Dragus didn't like space travel. The shaking at first at take-off, the tremors that ran through the ship in flight and the uncomfortable silence of hyperspace. He'd already gotten sick three times during their traveling. The ship had just come out of hyperspace again, soon to jump onwards on another hyperspace lane to Soliton. It would take a couple of minutes to plot the new trajectory.

To ease the tension and his wobbly stomach he'd secluded himself in one of the onboard workstations spread throughout the _Offeyyu_. His busy fingers sampled specimens from the Jentarana hull, he put them under a magnifying console so he could study them up close. He didn't plan on finding anything new, it was just to keep himself busy.

He blamed half of the queasiness on the space travel, and the other half to the fact that maybe somewhere on the ship a Jedi was lurking around. The _Offeyyu _didn't have an onboard security system, nor any surveillance cameras. The Jedi was free to roam wherever if in fact he was onboard, he knew there was a ship following them, the same ship that had rocketed off the Rancor League's warehouse two years ago after the prison break.

With that in mind Sasori had packed a sporting blaster of his own design with his luggage, and kept it close in case the Jedi should show. He'd also chosen the workstation that was closest to the engine compartment and the hyperdrive, since they were the most well guarded areas of the ship.

It was frightening to know that the Jedi would probably come looking for him. He was one of the top men of this operation, next only to Raydoen and Dr. Oteyu. He didn't fear for the doctor's life, and hoped the Jedi would make Raydoen a target.

Raydoen had mentioned having a new agenda for the Rancor League, perhaps even turning it into a government. If that was his plan, he had already mentioned that it would be part of Sasori's future. Only Sasori didn't know how or where. And if a government was his plan, then was Sasori willing to participate? He liked his job as a weapons dealer so far.

Sasori looked up from his desk at the crate stacked up against the farthest wall. The label on it said; Project 2502. It was a new type of prototype battle-droid sent to him by a fellow weapons designer at the Chironex Corporation. They manufactured all types of droids at request. Sasori knew one of the designers there, they'd shared the same education and both had a knack for weapons. Sasori had never delved at droids, he made handguns, battle-equipment like the paper thin tigris-armor he'd designed for his men.

Raydoen's dangi blades were another of his creations, blades the half the length of a human arm, made from cortosis ore, sharpened like a razor and could withstand even the blade of a lightsaber. Raydoen hadn't started using the blades until they'd been introduced to the Jedi matter.

The friend at the Chironex Corporation had sent him a prototype of the droid for him to investigate, walk it over for flaws, they shared many schematics to ensure that whatever one of them didn't see as a flaw and thereby an error, the other would. Sharing constructive criticism.

However Sasori had never shared or mentioned the Jentarana program with this friend, it might have been a fluke on his part, since then he might have overlooked a potential weakness. Sasori had feared showing the Jentarana off, it might have drawn unwanted attention if blurted out to anyone else.

Sasori looked at the crate again. Project 2502. A battle-droid. He smiled. His friend would have been so envious if he had seen the Jentarana. That was his sort of work. Either droids or large scale attack vessels. That was his style. Not that battle-droids were a bad idea. It was cheap to produce and they didn't take as long time to train than human subjects. Just upload the program and you had a loyal killing machine on your hands. One that would never freak out during battles. Nevertheless battle-droids were insufficient. They didn't have the human intelligence, they could easily be broken down or destroyed.

Bottom line, they just weren't smart. AI could never stand up to the expertise of a trained killer, a human. Processors worked slower than the human mind.

Sasori smiled and made a small laugh to himself as he remembered his study on the Battle of Naboo. The Trade Federation had used lowly battle-droids back then, thousands of them to overcome a native threat. And the battle-droids had broken down and were useless because a single starfighter destroyed the droid control ship. What a humiliation that must have been for the designer.

Sasori started when he turned around and found Raydoen standing in the doorway to his little office. The vampire snorted once upon seeing Sasori, as if he could read his mind, which must have been terribly trivial to a killer such as him.

However he noticed Raydoen didn't have that self-assure grin on his face, it was replaced by a more contemplating expression. "Bored, Inferior?"

Sasori seated himself at his desk. "I…just wanted to occupy myself."

"Worried?"

Sasori thought that was obvious. "Yes."

Raydoen stepped inside the office, walking in a purposeless manner. "You needn't be. This battle will not involve you."

Sasori felt slightly relieved to hear that, but he doubted if those words would hold true. "Then why am I here?"

"You are my company."

Sasori frowned. "You brought me…for my company?"

"I've found sparks in you that are interesting to me. I know you think of me as ruthless, mindless, but like in you I also think about things outside our business."

Sasori suddenly wondered if this was the real Raydoen or a Jedi mind-trick. It certainly didn't seem like the Raydoen he'd come to despise. "What can I do for you, Master?"

Raydoen hugged himself. "Talk with me."

Sasori felt very uncomfortable. This was definitely new ground. "About what?"

The vampire hesitated, unsure. It took a while before he found the right words. "Inferior, do you know what it is to make love?"

Sasori fought back a snicker. "Yes, I know."

Raydoen nodded. "I read. Shortly before our departure I finished a book on the philosophy of combat and war. It broke a man down into three different areas. An animal, a hunter and a dreamer. We are all hunters, but our choices and desires that we develop through our lives are what differentiates us from either an animal or a dreamer. I've never studied philosophy or theology before but the book had my interest peeked. We Dfeeliuans are humans, although either a higher or lower kind, but we are humanoids, and we share the same emotions that humans do, albeit ours sometimes go into the extreme."

Sasori didn't know what to say, and he wondered where this was going. But he also knew a wrong word now would anger Raydoen, and that could turn fatal.

"Okay."

Raydoen continued. "I believe that every man has a hunter in him, and that he can either choose to go after his desires as an animal, ferociously and crudely, like a savage, or as a dreamer, doing things in a peaceful manner and fantasying merely about things beyond his reach. The dreamer stays potent but restrained, while the animal gets its feedings regularly. The animal will, after having been fed, crave more and more, stuffing himself until he finally can find no more. He will starve himself to death, literally, grow weary of life all too fast, and die alone, still hungry but without more to eat."

Raydoen looked over at Sasori, a strange benign look on his face. "The dreamer will do things in a more peaceful manner, but it is in this peaceful manner he begins to suspect it is too slow a process. He puts all his dreams into the hands of hope, hoping his dreams will one day come true, floating by him on a cloud for him to pick like a fruit. The dreamer is never stuffed or overfed, yet he is never as hungry as the animal neither."

Sasori struggled do find the connection with sex. "What does any of this have to do with love?"

Raydoen looked away. "I've…never been able to make love."

Sasori's brow raised. "You're a virgin?"

Raydoen turned to him, quickly, his face and tattoo alive with fury. "Certainly not! I have been with many females."

Sasori held up his hands. "Sorry, sorry. I'm…not sure I understand."

"There are fine lines between the arts of copulation, Inferior. Physical pleasure attracts us all, no matter what kind of sex we are attracted to, but it does so for various reasons. Animals do not enjoy or seek out a sexual partner the way humans do, not for mortal desires. They seek out a partner as a means to pass on their genetic heritage, they do it to preserve the future of their species. They do it because they have to if they are to live on. Humans, or aliens for that matter, seek out sex as a means for pleasure. And they seek out as many partners as possible, like it was a sport. This too does not have to involve love either, and it is the form of sex that I have endured the most."

Raydoen looked sad. "Never once have I had any emotions for the female whom I was with. I've never wanted to know what kind of family or childhood she had, I've never wanted to know the names of siblings or the pets she had when she was younger. And I've never been with a woman for longer than it was needed for me to complete the ritual." Raydoen sat down on the edge of the desk. "Never enjoyed the caress of her fingers on my back, never basked in the taste of her lips. I've never given love to anyone."

"Why?"

Raydoen's eyes narrowed. "Because I don't have it in me. Because in the days of my life I caved in to my destructive side and became a warrior, I sold my soul to the art of bloodshed, because it was there that I found most pleasure. Its through this knowledge that I know come to realize that, however much I wanted to be, I am not a dreamer," Raydoen's eyes stared at nothing, "I'm an animal."

Sasori didn't believe what he was seeing. A saddened introspective Raydoen, a killer suddenly looking for something lost in his life. "I guess you shouldn't be so sad to know that," Sasori said. "You said that fighting was the only place you found any pleasure. Do you think you could have found the same kind of pleasure with a woman?"

Raydoen's eyes sharpened as they looked at him. "That was my question within my question. I wanted to know if you, Inferior, have you ever loved a female? And if you have, I want you to describe it so that I can know if the path I've chosen was wrong."

Sasori scoffed, confused. "You want me to describe what its like to feel love?"

Raydoen nodded. "Yes. Can you do that? Have you experienced love?"

Sasori hesitated. "I've…had my mild degrees of contact with it. There have been a pair of women in my life, none that I've had a longer relationship to. I've always put my work first, not because it gave me more satisfaction, but my designs had greater impact on the world than the affairs I've had. But I've shared emotions for women at different points of my life."

The vampire seemed to listen, really listen, to him for the first time. "Can you describe those emotions?"

Sasori tried, but he found he couldn't find the right words. Instead this moment of openness made him want to look deeper inside Raydoen's mind. "I think it would work better if you described what its like to take the life of a man."

Raydoen's lips twitched, then formed a cruel smile. "When I skewer a man, I see in his eyes a glimpse of recognition that lasts for a few seconds, before he falls down. That glimpse is the thing I crave most about combat, to see the final moments of life slip away and to see the soul leave the man. After I have done that, I start to devour his blood, drinking it down like vine and enjoying the faint rusty taste. His body belongs to me upon the desertion of his soul. His body is left behind and it is through his blood that I devour the last remnants of his soul, his strength and his fears. The taste of a man," Raydoen savored the memory, "is so much sweeter when it tastes of fear. This is how I gain his strength and feed my hunger."

Sasori felt sick to his stomach and decided against mentioning it.

Raydoen looked at him, eager for his reply. "Now that I've described my greatest pleasure in life, you describe yours."

Sasori interlocked his fingers, and suddenly realized something about himself that he had never seen before. And that thought brought him a certain sense of contentment. "No."

"What?" Raydoen's teeth flashed.

"I can't, Master."

Raydoen rose from the table and stared daggers at him. "What do you mean you can't? We agreed to share it!"

Sasori held out his hands. "Its not that I won't, its that I really can't, Master. I'm sorry to say that I think you have chosen a wrong path. Because if you can describe all of what you take away from killing a man, the way you just did, you've missed out on something very beautiful."

Raydoen's pale hands clenched into fists. "Describe it!"

Sasori shook his head. "Love can't be described, Master. Its a holy emotion that goes beyond even your wildest dreams." His feeling of contentment rose as he realized that he had been loved, and he had loved in return. In a point in his life where everything seemed dim and unsure, that knowledge illuminated some corners of his heart. "I don't think there is a single language in the entire Galaxy, or even the universe, that can come even mildly close to describing how love feels."

Raydoen looked dumbfound. "No words?"

"No."

Raydoen slumped against the desk, looking like his heart had been ripped out of his chest and fed to him as food. "I guess I should have expected that. How would an animal like me understand it?"

Sasori felt sorry for him. "There's still time."

Raydoen's eyes darkened and his shoulders slumped. "No."

"Why not?"

Raydoen started to talk but the words were never produced. Instead he turned and left the room, leaving behind an air of hostility and unresolved questions. Sasori thought about chasing him down but when he felt for the first the way his heart had pounded while Raydoen had been in his office, he decided not to. Sasori let out a heavy breath and slumped back into his chair. The entire conversation had been surreal, and he wasn't sure it hadn't just been his imagination.

A nearby screen on his desk lit up.

Sasori read an incoming hologram transmission to him from a source unknown. After locking down the chamber and making sure no one was close by he accepted the transmission. A hologram the size of a head appeared above his desk, the person on the other end shrouded. Sasori snorted, he had a feeling this particular person would be calling soon enough. Another one of his secret accounts that preferred their anonymity.

"What is it?" a voice growled at the other end.

Sasori cleared his throat and put his voice into a whisper. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd gotten my message. I have a proposition for you."

"A proposition?"

Sasori nodded, though he knew the person at the other end wouldn't see it. "The Jentarana."

A slight laughter. "Mr. Dragus, I wanted to buy the Jentarana from you two years ago and you turned me down. You may have forgotten…but I didn't."

Sasori was wary this might happen. "There was another buyer, an Imperial Admiral. There was nothing I could do. Raydoen sold it before even consulting with me. We're to make the drop-off in a matter of days on a planet called Soliton."

A long lingering silence came before the reply. "Why should that matter to me?"

"Because of what I can offer. The Jentarana…for free."

Again a long silence. "Are you kidding me?"

Sasori smiled. "No, I'm willing to turn the Jentarana over to you at no cost. However that doesn't mean there aren't implications."

"Such as?"

Sasori inhaled air, seeking to calm the flutter in his heart. "Raydoen has gone mad. I don't know what kind of game he's trying to play but…I'm not sure I want to be part of it. In exchange for the Jentarana, undamaged, I ask only that you help me get out of here."

The man at the other end contemplated for a few heartbeats. "Soliton? I'm not familiar with that system."

Sasori typed in the coordinates and the instructions while talking. "I'm sending the coordinates now. Do we have a deal?"

The person on the other end was silent for long, examining his own choices and gains to be had from this venture. "This weapon would be a great asset to my group. But I'm not entirely reassured about the conditions."

"No, but you do want the Jentarana, don't you?" Sasori remembered how eager the man had been when they'd first communicated. Sasori had all but completed the transaction and money problem when Raydoen showed up and spoiled the entire deal, claiming the Jentarana was already sold. That was the problem with Raydoen, too unpredictable, too self-absorbed. "The risk you're running is worth it, isn't it?"

"Perhaps so….Imperials, you said?"

Sasori scoffed. "Nothing. A single Star Destroyer, at the most." Sasori followed his line of thought through and remembered something else. "There might be another problem though."

"Such as?"

Sasori cleared his throat again. "A Jedi Knight is onboard the ship and he is trying to take the Jentarana for himself. I think he might - "

"A _Jedi Knight_?" the man interrupted.

Sasori nodded, again knowing the man wouldn't see it and then added. "Yes. But you should be more than able to - "

"See you shortly," the man said and signed off, leaving Sasori staring at the disappearing canvas of the hologram.

After a second Sasori flicked it off, surprised at the man's quick action, but decided it didn't matter. Rescue was on the way, and Raydoen was about to get a very nasty surprise. He couldn't wait for the vampire to be out of his life, despite the sudden burst of humanity Raydoen had shown him during their conversation, his words had only further cemented that he was a killer at heart. And killers never needed much excuse to take up their natural talents.

Out of the corner of his eye he spotted the crate leaning against the wall in his office again, Project 2502. Using a thick crowbar and a steel-cutter Sasori opened the crate and the droid stood there, lifeless, before him. It was not clunky like the IG-88 assassin droids, it lacked a better finish, but Sasori couldn't spot any noticeable weaknesses on first look.

_He did a better job than the last time. _Sasori had inspected the last prototype on numerous occasions, and found everything from faulty servomotors, insufficient shielding, low power problems and Sasori had finally had the pleasure of informing his friend that the prototype had been killed by a lonely rat that'd made a home for itself inside the engine compartment.

That mental image made him aware that he could smile again, Sasori took out a notepad and started inspecting Project 2502.

* * *

Jedi Master Bo-Hi Dzog walked across the dunes with a slight carelessness to his step. He wasn't really going anywhere, but after he'd pronounced Skar as a Knight, the bile in his throat had gotten so thick that he thought another minute inside the temple would make him choke. His walk soon became a brisk, almost stunted, walk. He wanted to run, he wanted to leave behind all that he had fabricated.

But he found no matter how fast he ran, no matter how much distance between himself and the temple, he could never escape it.

_How does one find peace when all he does hurts someone?_

Upon that realization he dropped to his knees on a dune and waited for his guilty conscience to catch up with him. He knew he may have pushed Skar's training ahead too fast, and he knew that it may have influenced the boy's connection with the Force, but he told himself that it was unavoidable. They all had to make sacrifices in order to get what they wanted.

He also feared what the temple might have done to him, what being in the presence of a Sith spirit might have done to him, to his integrity of spirit.

There were so many things he had done wrong in Skar's training, had it been during the Old Republic they would disavowed him decades ago. The boy was Kjoil, he shouldn't have been trained like a Jedi. The two teachings were nothing alike. He couldn't teach Skar any Kjoil training, he could only teach him the Jedi ways, and hope the boy found a bridge to his Kjoil heritage through that someday.

It crossed his mind that the students he had trained all had gaps in their training, all of them had been victims of his impatience. Kayupa certainly had, Kayupa had been his brightest star just until the young man found out the truth about the way Bo-Hi had trained him. He feared one day Skar would react the same way, but he could live with them both abandoning him. They were the future now, not him. He had very little to do in this age before he could fade away gracefully.

_The waves of my actions will spread throughout the stars, perhaps jeopardizing the lives of many innocent men and woman. _

Bo-Hi peered out into the setting sun and took in the comfort of the twilight evening. He thought of Skar, the young vibrant boy, whom had trusted him. Bo-Hi had lied to him again and again but he had done so out of care. He knew Skar suspected him of other deeds, but that was insignificant. It was only important that Skar be put on the rails of the path he had to take. Everything else was inconsequential.

Bo-Hi would not live forever, he knew, but he would leave behind a force to be reckoned with. He would leave his mark on the Galaxy and through Skar he would have his redemption.

Events had been set in motion that he had no way of stopping. Hopefully the flaws in Kayupa would be mended in Skar. Indeed, Kayupa would destroy the Jentarana. And there was no way he could stop it. Skar would come to help Kayupa, and there was no way he could stop that either. Those two were too good friends to leave the other hanging in jeopardy alone. They'd grown into brothers. And though he knew they wouldn't, he liked to think of himself as their father.

A soulless man in the backdrop of the events coming, in history he would not be remembered. But he found some happiness in knowing that Kayupa and Skar would. Because they created the future, leaving him to be forgotten in the seas of oblivion. He was insignificant. And therefor he deserved no redemption.

Skar, he would be remembered. His destiny was the brightest star of them all. He thought he knew all the answers and his love for Kayupa drove him forward. Whatever damage it might do. But Skar too would have his grief and his victory. His would be the loneliest of them all.

Too many people existed in this life to ever remember every single tale. Every single history. Only those whose tale ended in either grief or victory would be remembered, not the parents, not the friends, but the man itself. Kayupa, indeed, would be remembered, for his pride and his sense of duty, however much it might hurt Bo-Hi. Kayupa had the right idea, only it didn't match with what Bo-Hi had planned for the future.

Bo-Hi wiped the tears from his eyes as he saw the future he once dreamed of falter right in front of him.

A fleeting emotion passed through his mind's eye and Bo-Hi felt the minds of Shinran and Skar nearby, both in joy and happiness. More than usual. Stretching out to their minds, he felt them as equals. Shinran had once only felt like a shadow hanging over her weak self-control, but she was alive within the Force now. Bo-Hi pondered at what Skar could have done to have make her this happy.

And as he stretched deeper into their minds and touched them with the Force, he began to not feel them as equals anymore. It felt more intense than equality. It was almost as if they had melted into one; a perfect combination of mind and -

Master Bo-Hi's eyes shot wide open.

_Body?

* * *

_

"I don't know," Skar sniffled, "up until now, I never really believed in that the future was set. I always thought every man or woman had control of his and her destiny," Skar's eyes peered around her room, "but to be a Jedi means to believe in destiny, to believe in that what you are doing is in the interest of the Force. To serve the higher goal, the higher destiny."

Skar held Shinran as they laid together on her bed. Lying there, Shinran in his arms, Skar felt a pleasure and satisfaction the Force could never provide him. The unity inside them and outside them made their bond a special one. They were more than friends, they were companions in life and the Force. The Force had brought them together because of this bond, and Skar knew it.

It had brought him to this planet, showed him the Force and showed him the love that could exist between two people. Not so much love as in romance, but love in understanding and admiration of each other. A kinship in their feelings that made them a perfect pair, and a strong alliance in themselves.

A kind he had never known.

Shinran tilted her head, so she could look up into his eyes. "So now you believe in that?"

Skar didn't hear her at first. His eyes just locked on the ceiling, thinking about how to answer. Finally he looked over at her. "Yeah, I do. I think some events are set in life, like the people we meet."

She smiled and moved herself closer to him, a very cute smile on her lips. "Good."

He placed his head on top of hers. "Why good?"

She giggled cautiously. "Master Bo-Hi said the Force connects us all, but maybe some of us are more connected than others. Maybe two are meant to be, to serve a higher purpose together?"

He closed his eyes, as her words warmed his heart. He'd told her the same words once, not knowing they would come true as they had. "Is that us?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"So, to you I'm the right direction?"

"You're the only direction for me, Skar," she said straight forward. "You saved me here on this world. I was doing miserably, but you changed that. You weren't stand-offish like Kayupa, you didn't push me like Master Bo-Hi. You didn't care how fast I progressed."

Her hand moved across his chest through the shirt, moving in tiny circles. "You let me grow at my own pace. Somewhere along the line, you became my best friend. I feel happy when I'm with you, and when I'm not around you, I feel empty."

She looked up at him. "I know I once said you might leave when this was all done. I guess I was just worried, because if you left my life would return to the way it was before."

Skar kissed her cheek, confident that she would accept it, as they shared the same thoughts and feelings. Knowing that only increased Skar's knowledge that their meeting had been more than just coincidence. It was the will of the Force that had brought them together. "The Force lead us together so we could both be as strong as we are," Skar thought it over, "after a lot of grief and pain. My trip has had its share of heartache, and I still have a long way to go."

Shinran rolled over on her stomach and looked at him. "Do you think our paths are crossed? Do you think we have a future together?"

Skar sat up on his elbows and their faces were no more than a foot apart. "My place in the Force, right now, is to find out where I go from here," Skar said slowly, "do I go help Kayupa? Do I stay here, with you?" He smirked. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

For some reason she didn't laugh like she used to. The way he'd expected her to. She just looked into his eyes, perhaps for the first time seeing what was behind them. And what he had so long wanted to say to her. He saw the emotions contained in her heart. The same that lingered in his.

Her face leaned closer. "I only want to be with you."

They kissed, passionately, for a long time. When Skar finally withdrew, her face was a blur because their faces were so close, he felt her breath wash over his lips and he decided to taste her lips one more time, enjoying and loving the thought that he now could do so.

She smiled shortly and Skar saw a tear form at her eye. "Without you, Skar, I'd - "

Skar began to shake his head from side to side. "Shinran…"

Her hand flew up and held his face directly in front of hers, firm in place. "I _need _you."

Skar smiled, assuring her of his commitment to her. "I'm not going anywhere. I won't leave you. _Ever_."

The tear was freed and ran down his and her cheek. "You promise?"

In his head the emotion brought on by the kiss, showed him the reason he had longed to find ever since he came to this world. The first sign that would show him that this was the right path. That this was fate. And feeling Shinran's warmth, tender and strong at the same time, he knew that the Force was indeed with him, and he had taken his first step.

And he threw himself at its arms, accepting its will to have him be close to Shinran. He knew nothing would ever feel as right as this, and nothing ever had to.

Because this was perfect.

"I swear."

Through his training Skar had been taught that the Force was in all. The Force lived in every cell and atom of the Galaxy. Its power surged through everything and it was the creator of life itself. And during his time as a Jedi Skar had had the privilege of using and feeling the Force many times. Through training, through meditation and through simple things as touching objects. He could feel the very life inside a pebble or a flower.

And it didn't stop there. Skar could even sense the minds of the people millions of stars away. He could tap into them as easily as just thinking it. He could reach out to the Force and feel its very stability that held him, and the entire Galaxy together. He'd been taught codes that said that passion and emotions worked against the Jedi. Those emotions, those passions could be used as weaknesses and it dampened the Jedi's touch with the Force.

The Force was the most awe-inspiring feeling he'd ever had. The warmest and kindest touch of light in his heart. It was so intense and so empowering that words couldn't describe it. It was the best feeling he'd ever felt.

Was.

Somewhere beneath the flutter of a million thoughts was a belief that it was about to be surpassed. They kissed passionately as their bodies caressed against each other rhythmically. Her kisses teased him. Provokingly she pulled her lips back, wanting him to come to her, a longing in her eyes. Instead he slid down her body, removing clothing as he went.

Skar's mind catalogued every curve and every shape of her naked body and she enjoyed his admiring. Skar felt their skin touch and every hair on his body stood up. Her warm breath ran over his body as she kissed him all over, made him shiver with delight. He could feel her nails running all over his body, sensually.

Skar ran his hands all over her body, feeling, aching to touch her all over. To feel every part of her. Their kisses became more intense, she leaned in over him and her blond hair fell down the sides of her face, her beautiful oval eyes stared at him filled with love and desire. Skar pulled her down to his lips. He pulled himself closer, further, tighter, harder. Fighting to feel her as close as possible.

Skar held onto her as if letting go would kill him, and he feared it could. He never wanted to let go. She went for his lips a second time and Skar felt her tongue inside his mouth. Every once in a while she'd pull her head back to take in a breath of air, so she could go on in their haste of kissing and touching each other all over.

He tasted her skin as he kissed her shoulders and neck, her salty taste, and sucked it all up as it was the best thing he'd ever tasted. He could scent her, that intoxicating scent she'd always had. The scent he adored in the past when sitting next to her, the scent that was always there when he was in the presence of the woman he loved.

They moaned, the only way to express the raging feeling that they shared. The lust and the craving. She moved constantly, moaning, and groaning in delight. He pushed himself as close as he could, rubbing his lips against her, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Holding him pinned she enjoyed the sensation of him close to her.

When their lips met again her eyes were bright and playful. Skar ran his fingers over her face and she ran hers down his back. The way she moved her nails over his spine made him shiver all over. The feeling of their naked bodies touching was a liberation his mind had longed for very long. Being this close to her. To be with her. To be one. To make love to her.

The wonderful feeling of happiness and pleasure grew thicker between them as they became one, physically. The warm, tender, aching feeling of being one with her was so good he could feel the very sensation in every area of his body. His body vanished in a warm bright flaming passion of lust. And they disappeared into each other, bringing each other pleasure and delight. Her hands pulled him closer and they both smiled as they felt the same connection between them that had lead them together in the first place. This was more than just physical wanting, it was the release for the feelings they'd held for each for so long.

Skar wanted to cry out of happiness but each kiss, each touch, each sensation was too blissful for him to do so.

He didn't want to move, he didn't want to change at all, he just wanted to stay in this feeling with her. She was all he would ever need. She cared for him, she loved him, stood by his side, supported him. She'd always been there, through everything. She made him feel so warm, when the world was so cold, so confusing. She'd always been his center. His cornerstone.

She was the only real thing in his life, the only thing he could be sure of at all times. They'd shared everything over the years, the tears, the laughter, the pain, the joy. Everything. She was meant for him, and he was meant for her. Now she had become his lover too, as well as his best friend.

No, more than a friend, more than a lover. His soul mate.

When the liberating feeling washed over them both, they folded into each other and just laid there. Hot, sweaty, wrestling for air. They didn't have to move. They didn't have to talk. They both knew what the other felt. Skar kissed her forehead gently and she leaned up on her elbows. Her hair shrouded both their faces, secluding them inside their own little seclusion.

Skar looked into her eyes. "I love you," he said, and a galaxy's weight worth was lifted from his shoulders.

Her warm lips touched his and she smiled, her eyes showing the gratitude and joy in knowing she was his, in every sense. "Well, its like you said; two people imperfect on their own, but perfect together."

Skar found relishment in her touch and warmth as they both hugged each other as close as was physically possible; "As long as we're together … everything is perfect." Skar felt the desire to spend his life right there, in her arms, forever if he could manage it. To breathe in her light, to taste every moment through her.

His thoughts drifted and she pulled him close for another kiss. Then, as she laid her head down on his chest, Skar stole a glance at her eyes before she closed them. In her eyes he saw himself the only way he ever wanted to be.

Hers.

* * *

The console he'd found in a lonely corridor flashed all the information he needed in a green glow across his face. Kayupa noted the important and discarded the useless. He watched the details on the screen scroll down endlessly while he kept an eye down the corridor for movement. Nobody was there. He had a feeling he was being watched. There had been no incidents since his breach, but he still felt an awareness, someone thinking about him somewhere.

Taking his attention away from the console for a moment, he tapped into the Force to see if his hunch was true.

Instantly Kayupa felt like his heart was being eaten up from the inside. His entire body stung with electric stings. He screamed, wrenched and cringed himself into a ball, but nothing made the pain go away. The pain roared in his ears, deafening him. He struggled to find something to make it go away, tried every technique he knew but nothing changed. Nothing made it seem to stop, no healing technique, no meditation, no memory of happiness.

So, instead of evading the pain, he flung himself at it, welcoming it into his soul. And he cried when he found the cause.

Images of Skar and Shinran together, kissing.

_Skar! No! Why!

* * *

Morning came with sweet euphoria. Like a ghost taunting the sleepers, Skar felt mesmerized lying next to his female companion. He held his head up as he laid on his left side, watching the woman sleep. A sleep from her haunted thoughts. A rest from the millions of choices, wishes, fears, she had to endure when sunlight came._

He listened to her breathing, felt their legs touch each other under the blanket. Skar felt happy for her, seeing her take time off to finally find some peace from her internal chaos.

He remembered Lwen talking about a woman he had once been involved with. He'd said that there was nothing in the world as soothing as finding someone to dream with, someone to hold your hand in pursuit of new dreams. Skar smiled fondly at the memory and realized that before something like holding hands with Shinran, had been his only dream. Sometimes that simple gesture was enough. It was the sort of thing many took for granted, and what the lonely would give anything to have.

Having kissed her, having slept with her and knowing she was his Skar counted himself among the luckiest men in the Galaxy. Not to mention the happiest.

He watched as the sheet lifted and sank with the movements of her chest. Watched as her eyelids slowly moved, a sign of dreaming. Skar wondered for a second what she might be dreaming, but saw by the small rise at the side of her mouth that it was a good dream. And Skar sensed too the joy she was experiencing inside her thoughts.

Trying to see what she felt he moved inside her mind and tried to gain a glimpse of the source of her happiness. Unlike a holo, Skar saw not a moving image but more short flashes of feelings. Joy was imbedded in all of them, stronger in some than others. Those strongest were all occupied with him

Shinran was dreaming of him. _She needed love to know that she was not just another wandering soul. She needed to feel someone want her, that someone cared for her. _Lying down on his back and staring at the ceiling, Skar smiled.

Almost immediately she woke. Her face lit up, seeing him. "Sleep well?"

He looked over at her. "Not much. But good."

She moved across the sheets and placed her left arm across his belly and slid her right hand under his neck, slowly caressing him.

"That feels nice."

She laughed, but never stopped caressing. He noticed she bit her lower lip trying to bite back her pleasure at making him feel good. "Like it?"

He returned to his left side and held her left hand in to his chest. "I love it."

She moved up to lie on top of him and landed a soft and warm kiss on his lips. He returned the kiss, adding a little pressure, but still gentle enough for her not to feel strained. She let her hand slip up behind his neck and held him into her tightly.

Skar watched as both their hands united and fell into sync. He felt her soft skin between his fingers and saw as his dark red tattoos overshadowed the milky white color of her hand.

"I always wanted it to be this way; from the very first time."

He looked up from the contrasts of their hands to meet her eyes. "The very first time?"

"Yeah."

"A long time ago."

"Almost too long, I figured you would have read it off my mind."

Skar smirked. "No, I didn't. I wasn't that good back then."

She ran a finger down his lips. "Good enough for me, you've made me happy."

He smiled. "I know. I feel it."

She stared into his eyes. "You removed it."

Skar jokingly put his hand over his heart and did his best to look surprised. "Who, me?"

She smiled. "You let me in." She kissed his hand.

"I'm glad I did. Although I wish you had found it on your own. That you were strong enough."

She smiled cutely. "Yeah, but this worked out so much better!"

Skar tightened his grip on her hand, laughing. "Yeah, I guess it did."

"Thank you."

Skar made a puzzled face. "For what?"

"You know. For being there."

They kissed again, slower this time but with equal passion. She tugged at his neck. He pulled her closer, eager to feel her warmth and softness.

_Skar._

For a second Skar thought it had been Shinran's thoughts talking, but the authority in that voice was only characteristic for one person Skar knew. Shinran sensed the change in him and freed herself from him. Skar kicked away the sheets and began to dress himself.

_Master Bo-Hi.

* * *

_

Kayupa dwelled into that energy that existed in between the real and the fantastic. The Force flooded through him, repairing him like a surgeon. Kayupa felt his blood cooling and allowed the Force to eradicate any concern or pain that might have been floating in his sub-consciousness. Around him he felt space, the enormous vacant vacuum of space. And closer he felt the ship's trembling decks, though so lightly that a humanoid couldn't feel it, but he could. Even the minor shudders of the ship he felt through the Force. He could sense the men working on the ship. Guards, technicians, crew and others. All of them doing their job, unable to grasp what evil plan they were aiding.

Kayupa felt anger coming back, but silenced it. Kayupa stayed inside the Force, lingering in its comfortable cushion. Hearing only the wails of the healing energy inside. Seeing the lightning channeling through his veins and his cells.

Kayupa saw his purpose very clearly. He was a warrior. And the cause for which he fought was one long ignored. Sacrifices were necessary. Casualties were acceptable, even himself. He'd been trained to fight, to make a difference. Warriors were one of those selected groups of people who actually made a difference.

Kayupa frowned in disgust. _Politicians _were the least admirable of change-inducing kinds. Politicians deal with problems that would not exist if _they _didn't exist. They sought capital, profit, not peace or understanding. Politicians were the lowest kind of vermin.

There was only one kind of politician that Kayupa could admire; the philantrophists, the humanitarians, those who showed an honest interest in peace. Those who cared enough to spend their life trying to make the world better. Humanity, whatever form, had to be preserved and war had to be abandoned. Universal benevolence, that was the key, the only way to truly have peace.

The Galaxy was at a stalemate. The Empire was dead, but who would take over. Would they be better?

Would another Empire rise from the ashes of the dead? Sociology had shown that the vast majority of the Galaxy saw the Empire as evil, but it was hard to find the balance. Everyone would have different opinions about right or wrong. The Empire felt they were right, and they were a majority. A majority with enough weapons and numbers could easily become rulers. But what most didn't know, and Kayupa did, was that the Empire was constructed by someone tainted with the Dark Side.

The Emperor may have been in a coffin but that didn't mean the Empire would just vanish. They still had battleships, bases, men still loyal to the Empire's code. Those loyal men were still dangerous. In fact, even though the Emperor was dead, he was just one man. The Empire was still impressive in numbers and strength. The loss of their leader had been a strong blow at their morale, and many had left the Empire, while other warlords gathered up as many pieces as they could, not for the Empire, but for their own empire.

Killing the Emperor would have been like to cut the head of dragon, only to have ten more heads growing out of the wound. It would never stop. Man is the only animal whose desires increase as they are fed; the only animal that is never satisfied.

Kayupa was a warrior and he fought for the good side. _His _good side. And as such he had been able to choose his own mission, judging where he wanted to strike for himself. And he'd chosen the Jentarana. The weapon had to be destroyed. It was his duty as a Knight, and as a warrior. It was the chivalry in him that had drawn him. He _would _make a difference.

Kayupa pulled himself out of meditation and flexed his limbs before continuing down the hall he knew led to the Jentarana. But as far as he could tell, there was a small work station he'd have to pass before getting there. There was the chance he might get spotted and that would not be beneficial now. He had nowhere to run, once they were on the ground then he could escape. But in space, there really weren't that many hiding places.

Kayupa reached a corner and took a quick peek around it.

One door. The work station.

* * *

Sasori had never been so embarrassed. All the other technicians that had crowded his refuge were laughing at him. Even his new bodyguard, just one this time, was snickering. Sasori kept a brave face and pretended to be able to take it with a light heart. But internally he cursed them all to Dagobah.

He held the bleeding cut with his free hand. He'd been demonstrating one of his designs, a spring-vibroblade, but he'd held it the wrong way and the blade had cut his hand.

Everyone had laughed.

Now he held the wound, smiling bravely as he made his way out of the work station.

* * *

Kayupa held his breath as he heard sounds inside the work station. He placed his ear up against the door and could hear laughing behind it. Chuckles and giggles.

_Footsteps!_

Someone was coming straight for him behind the door. Kayupa glanced back down the hall. It was linear and there was no place he could hide. The person behind the door would see him before he could get far enough.

Kayupa unholstered his silenced blaster and prepared for confrontation.

* * *

Sasori touched the pad with his healthy hand and growled as he realized that not even his bodyguard was following him, he stayed behind and laughed along with the rest of the worthless lot.

_Some bodyguard. _

The door whooshed open and he stepped through hearing the last of the laughs drown out as the door closed again behind him -

"Freeze!"

Sasori skidded to a halt. His heart froze in obedience.

"Don't move!"

Sasori's heart began beating again, this time pounding so hard against his ribcage it hurt. Yet he remained frozen in place.

"Hands up!"

Sasori complied. Both hands went up, one of them holding a bloodied napkin. He cursed himself for not bringing the blaster with him. He felt a barrel shoving against his neck. Hands padding him up and down, searching him for weapons.

"You clean?"

Sasori nodded. "I'm not armed." He frowned at himself. _That's gotta sound funny coming from a weapons-designer._

Almost as if the perpetrator had heard his thoughts, he heard a short laugh behind him. "Turn around."

Sasori obeyed. But before he could turn enough to see his mugger, a fist smashed against his nose, knocking him out and dropping him down hard on the floor.

* * *

Skar walked inside Shinran's chamber again, returning from his worrying talk with Master Bo-Hi. It seemed Kayupa had sent them a transmission from Nar Shaddaa. One explaining that the Jentarana was being moved, possibly for a drop-off. He suspected them of trying to sell it to the Imperial Remnant, but wasn't sure. No matter what, Kayupa explained that it was vital that Skar came to see him.

Skar wondered at how Kayupa had known Skar would find another ship on Kryuu. How had he known that Skar would find it? Skar had already revealed the _Witty _to Master Bo-Hi who didn't seem surprised. There were so many small questions floating around him and he couldn't answer one without ten more coming to light.

As he closed the door behind him he found comfort in seeing Shinran still lying in her bed. But his restless thoughts of Master Bo-Hi's warning had occupied any attempt to enjoy that comfort.

She saw his worried face. "What is it?"

Skar sat down at the foot of her bed, his hands clammy, eyes darting from one object to the next. "Kayupa. The Jentarana is being moved."

Skar instantly felt her dread, feeling much like his own. She moved to sit behind him and her hands met in front of his chest. "Where?"

"Soliton."

"Is he dead?"

"No, I would have felt that." Skar took a deep breath. "I tried to talk to him through the Force, but…he's blocked again. Like he was when he left two years ago."

"Why? Back then he wanted to be alone. Why would he want that now?"

Skar shook his head. "I think he's upset, he's blocking himself intentionally."

"Upset about what?"

Even before Skar could answer, they both knew the answer. There was no way of avoiding the fact that Kayupa could have been upset about Skar and Shinran. Even though Kayupa had assured Skar that he had no interest in her, he could have been pretending to be strong. Maybe he'd felt how close they were, and then decided to step off, and let Skar have her. As a friend would.

For a moment Skar felt regret, knowing he might have hurt his friend.

"What was that?"

Skar looked at her. "What?"

She looked at him like he'd insulted her. She unlocked from him and moved to the other corner of the bed. "That look in your eyes."

"What?" Skar moved his hand out to her, but she wouldn't take it.

"You regret last night?"

_You really do know me. _Skar shook his head fast. "No, of course not. It's just - "

"Just what?"

Skar lifted from the bed and steadied himself against a dresser. "Kayupa is like my brother, I didn't want to hurt him." Skar felt like he was tripping over his own words, words that seemed to get in the way. "I don't regret last night, but I _do _regret hurting him."

"Why?" she shouted, "he's a fool! He doesn't deserve your pity!"

"Shinran, please!" Skar begged.

"No! He's an arrogant fool, who got a clean dose of reality for once. We both know he needed it."

Skar nodded. "I know that, but I'm worried how he'll deal with it. I don't know if he can accept it."

Shinran fumed with barely contained rage. "How long do we have?"

"I don't know. Master Bo-Hi wasn't sure." He sighed, and knew she was only waiting for him to say it. "I have to, Shinran. I have to help him. I _owe _him."

"You owe him nothing!" she shouted and looked away. "What about us?"

Skar held up his palms. "I love you, you know that. This is something I have to do, so we can be together. I have to find Kayupa. We'll talk about us later, when we are safe. When Kayupa is safe." Skar combed back his hair with his fingers, feeling hopelessness creep its way back into his life.

Shinran looked lost, and Skar felt sorry for her. He knew she was trying to show him that they were together now and that Kayupa didn't have any place with them. But still Skar couldn't cast Kayupa aside. He was a friend. He was a good friend. Skar did owe him. He'd made a promise.

"Its the responsibility that was bestowed to me when I became a Jedi, Shinran. This is what I do. You knew that when you met me, you even knew it last night when we made love. I've made a commitment to you as well as everyone else. And to leave Kayupa behind I'll be disgracing my heritage."

She still wouldn't look at him. "Are you sure its the right thing to do?"

Skar bit down on his lower lip. "When has anyone ever been sure of what was the right thing to do? It doesn't matter if its right or wrong. He's my friend."

She looked at him and Skar wanted to do anything to make her smile again. Anything but abandoning Kayupa.

Skar lifted his chin. "I have to find Kayupa."

* * *

Skar came running up the cliff, finding Master Bo-Hi Dzog still staring at the morning sun. Skar had replaced his Jedi boots with his own black. The stealth suit that Kayupa had given him fit him perfectly. Skar's new polished lightsaber hung ready in his belt and a silenced blaster, Kayupa's, was strapped to his thigh.

Despite his eagerness to be underway Skar's thoughts were still with Shinran, knowing his actions were hurting her. They should be together now, but Skar was not willing to forget his responsibility to Kayupa. _I can't leave Kayupa now. He needs help. And I can help him._

Skar sensed a wave of recognition when Master Bo-Hi looked at him. Master Bo-Hi shook his head, clearly disorientated. "For a second there…I thought you were Kayupa."

Skar straightened the suit and his boots, the comment somewhat appealing to him, and somewhat terrifying. "I guess we're more alike than I thought."

Master Bo-Hi nodded, without asking further. "We have very little time." Master Bo-Hi turned and looked up at the clouds over the very blue sky.

Skar found himself without an answer to a question. "Master, you _are _coming with me, aren't you?"

The Jedi Master bowed his head. "I care for him too, Skar."

Skar nodded and left it at that.

Master Bo-Hi turned to look at him. "We'll all be in danger, my apprentice. But find Kayupa we must."

On a light breeze Skar caught the scent and he turned to see Shinran coming over the dunes. He smiled at her, but she didn't return it. He moved over to her and took her hands. She had been crying Skar realized, even after he'd left her, when he saw her puffy eyes. He hugged her tightly, relishing in her scent and her warmth.

Her trembling ceased as he channeled himself through her and reassured her fears. _I won't fail you. I'll find a way for us to be together the way we were meant to be once this is all over. I'm not letting you go. _

He held her face in his palms. "I want us."

"Me too." She reached up behind his back. "Skar, its alright…I understand. I don't like it, but I understand it. Its one of those admirable traits about you. Your lack of self."

Skar was happy she felt that way "Thank you."

She kissed him gently, and he kissed her back, trying not to think that it might be the last time. Giving her forehead one last kiss, he released himself from her arms and walked over to Master Bo-Hi.

"Let's go, Master."

Skar shifted his suit and made sure his lightsaber was tightly attached to his belt. When he looked back up, Master Bo-Hi stood there frozen, a very odd expression on his face as he stared at something behind Skar.

"What?"

Then Skar heard the sound. He swirled to see Shinran with a blaster, her own blaster. The feeling of betrayal came faster than he had ever felt an emotion before. And inside him he wanted to die, seeing her with a blaster in her hands pointed at him was like blasphemy to him.

She holstered it. "You're not going without me, Skar."

Skar blew out a heavy breath, damning himself for even doubting her a second, then walked over to her and held on to her shoulders. "No, you can't go. Its much too dangerous. You'll be safer here."

She pulled herself free and gave him a stare that again made him want to die. "Cram it! If something happens to you, I want to be there. You said that you wouldn't leave me if I needed you. Well, I guess I need you now. I won't sit around here waiting for you never to come back."

Skar pondered the possibility he might not return and started to talk.

"No! I don't want to hear it!" she stopped him. "You have no choice." She walked past him. "Come on. Let's get to the ship." She began walking over the desert

Master Bo-Hi sent a sympathetic smirk his way.

Skar groaned. "Women."

Not too far away he saw Shinran turn around to shout at them. "Jedi!"

Both Bo-Hi and Skar laughed and then they started following her. Seeing Master Bo-Hi's smirk made him want to stand up for himself, to assert himself, not wanting Master Bo-Hi to think she wore the pants in the relationship.

"She's…got a way with words."

Master Bo-Hi laughed and placed his palm on Skar's shoulder. "Off to save the world, Skar?"

The touch of his Master's palm on his shoulder made Skar cringe. "Sure."

* * *

Skar launched himself into the seat in the cockpit of the _Witty_. Instantly he knew which switches to flick and which buttons to push. The ship so familiar to him that it might as well have been his own. The psychometry was like a crash course in flying a ship. And again Skar felt the presence of his uncle. So many things around him were connected to him.

And now he was off to set his uncle's failure right.

Master Bo-Hi sat to his left, scratching the metal apparatus over his mouth. "Soliton. Its a short trip. We should be able to intercept them there."

"But - Nar Shaddaa was a month away, Master?"

Master Bo-Hi smiled, and Skar recognized that smile of knowing Skar always had questions, even though he was a Knight now. To Master Bo-Hi Skar was like a vacuum sucking up knowledge from all over. Always thinking, always examining.

"Nar Shaddaa was a month away, but Soliton is in between. A few days, no more. As far as I could read from Kayupa's message, he would arrive there in two days."

Skar nodded, not happy. "Will we make it?"

Master Bo-Hi was calm as always. "The Force will guide us."

Skar had no doubt of that, the Force was always there and always guiding. But where would it lead them and how? More disturbing than that uncertainty was Skar's lingering feeling of victory over Master Bo-Hi in the final test. He'd bested a Jedi Master. And while that thought shouldn't bother him but only encourage him, it did sit in a bad place. He wasn't supposed to beat a Jedi Master, no matter how good he would become later.

And the worst feeling was not knowing whether it meant Skar was exceptionally good and that Master Bo-Hi hadn't given it his all.

What if Master Bo-Hi was worried about something? Could it be the same tension that Skar had been feeling about Kayupa's solo flight to Nar Shaddaa and now Soliton? Had the tension weakened Master Bo-Hi? Skar didn't want to think that he was better than Master Bo-Hi or that Master Bo-Hi was weakening. Either choice was discomforting, Bo-Hi was like a book that couldn't be read.

Skar looked at his Master, saw the purple scar running over his face. A sign of combat long ago. Skar had never heard the origin of the scar. But by the looks of it, it had to have been an animal or a woman.

Close range.

Skar looked away, feeling the ship almost ready to launch. _Is Bo-Hi weaker than I thought? _Skar reached out and grabbed the controls, behind him Shinran held on to his shoulders. _If you think so well of someone, you find it impossible to see the flaws or errors in that person. Sometimes you ignore them subconsciously, because admitting them would ruin the relationship. Have I been totally blind? Is Master Bo-Hi a sham? Is he something other than I thought? And what is with Kayupa? He pretended to wait for me, he pretended to want me with him, and then he left. Doesn't any of them see the errors and dangers they're making? Why are they so blind? _

Skar took a deep breath and tried to shake it all away.

_Maybe I'm the blindest of them all._

"Hang on."

He powered up the repulsorlifts and the ship wobbled from side to side under Skar's unskilled, but improving, hands. The _Witty _hovered in midair, slightly bumping up and down. Skar cursed as the ship lifted too fast and bumped into the ceiling of the hangar.

Master Bo-Hi laughed nervously beside him, clearly intimidated. His clawed fingers were buried inside the pollster of his seat. "My apprentice, I thought you were going to fly this thing?"

Skar turned to him with murder in his eyes. "Its my first time, okay?"

Behind him Shinran laughed, her hand caressing his cheek. "You usually do things perfect the first time."

Skar blushed and resumed to control the ship and brought it down from the ceiling and directly in front of the hangar opening. "Great," Skar said, "now let's get out of here."

Skar added more power to the ship and the ship tore through the hole and rocketed out of the hangar, freeing itself from the temple. Skar was shaking in his seat as the atmosphere hit them. The ship trembled and Skar was pushed back into his seat. Behind him Shinran was knocked off her feet and tumbled onto the floor. He could hear Shinran cursing behind him, and Skar felt her making a prayer mentally.

And so was Master Bo-Hi.

"Have a little faith in me, alright?" Skar regained his perspective and his temper as the _Witty _steadied. "See, nothing to worry about."

Shinran got up on her feet and decided to strap in. "Why didn't you guys tell me to stay home!"

They both shouted. "We did!"

She frowned. "You weren't very convincing."

Skar shook his head lightly then smiled. He kicked in the sublight drives and outside the stars were shining, and Skar realized he'd missed seeing them so close. He'd missed being out in space. Because out here in between planets and systems the Galaxy was wide open, so many options and so many paths.

"I've typed in the coordinates." Master Bo-Hi leaned back in his seat. A look of completion was on his face. "We're ready."

Skar pulled back the hyperdrive-activator. "We sure are."

With that the stars stretched into white lines and the ship, carrying Skar on a quest to save his friend, entered hyperspace.

* * *


	5. The Battle Of Soliton

"Wake up!"

A smack hit him across the face, and Sasori Dragus woke up burning with fiery rage. As he tried to stand, his body was pulled back down and he realized his hands were tied, around a pipe as far as he could feel. The pipe felt warm against his back. He tried to break free but there was no escape from it. His feet were tied too. He looked around and realized where he was being held prisoner.

Fresher stations were lined up on either side of the room, and three stalls were stacked up next to him. All of the freshers had mirrors over them.

And lounging against one of the freshers was a gray-clothed man in an impressive stealth suit. Sasori tried to focus on the man's face but he couldn't make it out. All he saw was a blur. "Who are you?"

The man didn't answer.

Sasori pulled at his restraints but they were tightly bound. There was no escape. "That suit?" Sasori thought it looked familiar. "You a SonGol?" SonGol were a group of mercenaries, he remembered selling a batch of those stealth outfits to them a year back. The suit itself was vintage, dating back longer than he could remember. It was out of age and several new models had been designed since then. Some he'd made himself. "What do you want with me?"

"Answers."

That voice. Sasori tried to trace it back. He'd heard the same gruff voice when he had been held up, but he'd been too panicked to identify it. It was a voice from the past. Someone linked to the Jentarana. Someone once a great prize. A target.

And as Sasori found out the source of the voice he damned himself for not thinking about the stowaway on the ship first. It had completely slipped his mind.

The Jedi Knight.

"You - you're the Jedi. You came for the Jentarana."

No answer came.

Sasori blinked, struggling to see more clearly. "But your ship was following us, how did you get onboard?"

The man laughed, but the sound was dark as night on Nar Shaddaa. "I've always been here."

Sasori didn't understand, but he had a hunch. "A drone ship?" Sasori smiled. "Nice thinking."

"Yeah, I figured you'd enjoy that. Being a man of war," his voice was full of contempt, "being another innocent bystander at the crash site."

Sasori swallowed. "You know me?"

The man nodded, he could see that much. "Sasori Dragus."

Sasori wasn't surprised the man knew his name. "You've been watching us ever since?"

The Jedi shook his head. "No, I came back a few weeks ago. Waiting for you to slip up."

Sasori felt fear pay another visit. "You came for the Jentarana? Or to avenge your uncle?"

"He wasn't my uncle," the Jedi said flatly.

Sasori didn't accept it. "Yes, he was," Sasori remembered the name, "Lwen Kando. You freed him." Sasori tried to remember the details. It seemed so long ago. "And the woman. He wasn't your uncle?"

"No."

Sasori realized the inevitable: "Then….there were two Jedi."

"Three would be more accurate."

Sasori swallowed hard. Three Jedi? How had that many survived the Purge? "What do the Jedi want with the Jentarana?"

The man walked over to Sasori, whose eyesight had become clearer and he looked closer at the Jedi. The man had long brown hair tied up in a bandana. A look of hate and contemplation painted over a face that seemed incapable of smiling. Sasori spotted lightsaber and silenced blaster on the belt.

"We're gonna end the tyranny, set a stand for humanity for once. To end all wars."

Sasori frowned. "Not even Jedi can do that. Raydoen was right. War is inevitable. You can't stop it."

The Jedi turned. "We can."

Sasori laughed and hoped the words would sting as intended. "How? Can you remember a time when there wasn't war? When there wasn't battle? A time when warriors weren't needed?"

The Jedi didn't answer.

Sasori pulled in a deep breath and opened his heart. Words came out that he didn't even know he had in him. "War is so much part of the spirit. Its immutable. No talk or action can stop it." Sasori took in another breath. "We are all warriors, you and I. Don't think we're not, because we are. You say you want to stop wars? But then where would you be? The world needs men like us. We can't lose our place. There will always be war."

The Jedi hunched down in front of him. "I remember a time when peace reigned, not fear."

Sasori looked into the Jedi's blue eyes and saw that the sincerity in his eyes, this man was buying his own words. Sasori shook his head. "Those days are over. As long as there are people there will always be war."

The Jedi smiled. A subtle smile of animosity. "Balance."

"What balance?"

"I agree war can't be put completely to rest. The world is too big…too _different _for peace. But we can create a balance where everything stays in one place. No progressing military taking over world after world. No children waking up wondering if their home is next. Stability. Unity. Safety." The Jedi turned and nodded. "A republic."

Sasori snorted. "Why a republic? Control would be too hard to maintain. You saw what happened the last time!"

The Jedi leaned up against the wall. "Control was corrupted then. It won't be this time. Not with Jedi at the helm."

Sasori laughed. "A Jedi republic? That will never happen. Xenophobia wouldn't let it. Jedi were once respected but they were equally mistrusted."

"Not this time."

"Why not?"

The Jedi's face turned grim, even more than it was before. It seemed a great heartache had gripped the Jedi in its very grasp. "Because the world is about to see what kind of commitment the Jedi have to the people. To life itself."

Sasori flattened himself against the pipe. "What?"

"The Jentarana."

Sasori felt the room growing smaller around him. "What are you gonna do?"

"Sacrifice it. In the name of the Jedi."

Sasori wanted to jump for the Jedi's throat but the restraints kept him impotent. The thought of destroying the Jentarana sent waves of anger through him that he didn't know he had. Feelings of ownership.

"You're stupid! You can't do that." Sasori felt the blood rushing through his veins, like an angry storm. "The weapon is indestructible. Its power will never diminish." Sasori smiled, his lips trembling with rage. "Its here to stay."

The Jedi pulled away from the wall and walked around in front of Sasori. "Not if you have the key to unlocking it. Anything will give up its secrets...if you love it enough."

Sasori swallowed, fighting back his own anger. Knowing it was useless to get himself worked up. The Jedi was in control. "You know it well."

The Jedi looked down at him. "We've had a couple of run-ins in the past. I have a close bond with it. We are bound to each other. Destiny."

Sasori didn't know what to say. "When we stole it on Corellia - we stole it from you, didn't we?"

A smile crept across the man's lips, but it was a sad one. "It doesn't matter. We would have found each other one way or another."

Sasori lowered his voice. "Then why do you want to destroy it?"

"Anything truly revolutionary is created by a few who see what is true and are willing to live according to that truth; but to discover what is true demands freedom from tradition, which means freedom from all fears. When the Jentarana is destroyed, a new Republic will born from its flames. The Jedi will be in charge this time, their loyalty unquestioned. The world will gather and ask for their help, and the Galaxy will be protected beneath the Force." The Jedi looked at him, a sad lonely look in his eyes.

Sasori felt his hands shaking. "What do you mean, 'flames'?"

"The Empire is still alive. Their loyalty still in check. Some factions of it still salute the Imperial crest. They've lost their Emperor but their seat of power still stands as a mock of everything _I _stand for."

Sasori didn't want to hear the rest but still asked. "Seat of power? You're talking about Coruscant."

The Jedi only nodded.

Sasori's shaken mind remembered the word 'flames'.

And the name Coruscant.

"You can't - "

"I, of course, will die." The Jedi unholstered his blaster and as he made a sad smile, Sasori swore he saw tears in the Jedi's eyes. "But, as you said, there would be no place for me."

* * *

Onboard the soaring _Witty _Shinran pulled herself away from another lesson on mind-calming techniques with Jedi Master Bo-Hi. The lessons were based on Jedi routines and training so they required more from her than she could give. The Force had not blessed Shinran with its empowering gift, it had not showered her presence in life with its glory.

The techniques were useless on her.

Master Bo-Hi nodded and she retreated down the shaft into the barrack. She dodged beneath pipes and controls before reaching the dimly lit corridor where Skar Kjoil sparred with his Holocron.

The golden lightsaber loomed over him when their eyes met.

Skar had not seen her lessons with Master Bo-Hi, but his mind had been with her all the while. Ever since their connection that night, after they'd made love, Skar had been feeling her on the inside. She walked around his mind non-stop. She existed in between his thoughts and emotions like a supervisor. Every thought he had was embedded with her, every emotion he felt he could trace back to her.

Skar had not seen her lessons, but he had felt them like they were his own. The woman who'd seemed so lost from society, so hopeless, was now glowing internally. She had been shifting in emotions during the lessons, but being in his presence again, Skar felt her brightening.

Her long hair was tied in a knot and she leaned herself against the wall. Her curious and endeared smile flowed mercury through his body. Skar ran a hand through his hair and combed it back. The lightsaber powered down and he threw it on his hammock.

"Being a Jedi," he said and wiped the sweat from his forehead, "has taken away my use of greetings like 'how are you?'"

She titled her head. "Because you already know how I feel?"

"I feel it also."

She frowned. "Doesn't this ever wear you?"

The words surprised him, Skar hadn't expected that. "I was wrong. I hadn't seen that one coming."

"Care to answer it, anyway?"

Skar sensed a level of hostility in her, turned off the Holocron and walked over to her. "What's wrong?"

She turned her face away from him, but he moved her face back to look at him with a careful finger. The pain burning inside her eyes was undeniable.

"Talk to me."

"What is it you expect to find on Soliton, Skar? Meaning? Purpose?"

Skar felt a touch of anger and this time he was the one who moved away. "Haven't we been over this? This conversation?"

She snorted. "Is this really all for Kayupa, or is it - "

"Yes!" Skar shouted. "Its all about Kayupa. Its _always _about Kayupa. Its about a friend who's in trouble."

"But he put himself there, he knew the risks. He didn't accidentally get into trouble. He walked right into it!"

"And you don't think that takes courage? Strength? To set yourself aside into dangers, when the goal is worth it."

She sighed and sat down on the hammock. "Don't you see something wrong? Don't you see how he forced you to come to him? He's hiding something from you, Skar."

Skar _had _wondered at how Kayupa had known about the second ship, the _Witty_, on Kryuu. Kayupa had turned out to be an enigma after his seclusion to the desert, and Skar still didn't quite understand what had happened to him out there. Kayupa hadn't been able to make Skar grasp it all.

Indeed Kayupa was hiding something. But Skar was somewhat used to Kayupa keeping his secrets. While Skar saw them as friends he guessed there were some things he would never quite know all about the Jedi Knight. They were great friends, but Kayupa was the biggest mystery Skar had ever faced. Even more difficult to unravel than the Force.

"What do you think he's hiding then?"

She held up her hands in despair. "I don't know! Can't you see that? I know he's hiding something that could tear us all apart. Maybe his goals aren't what you think. You have to suspect that he's using you for something."

Skar stepped closer. "But why? Why should I - fear him?"

She laid down in the hammock and put her hands over her eyes, trying to block invisible tears. "You're going to have to make a choice, Skar. Its us or him."

"What?"

"You can't keep jumping back and forth between us or Kayupa. Whose side are you on?"

Skar bit back his impulse to shout. "I'm on _our _side. I thought you knew that."

"So you'd sacrifice Master Bo-Hi for Kayupa?"

Skar's hands clenched into fists. "Of course not!" Skar hunched down next to her. "I'm _torn _between the two. I can't help one without failing the other."

"That's why you have to choose - "

"But I _can't_! I can't choose!" Skar felt his own batch of tears now tingling at the corners of his eyes. "I'm torn apart on the inside, but no one sees it."

She leaned out from the hammock and touched his cheek, her hand a warm comfort. "I see it, that's why I'm telling you this."

Skar looked at her, afraid that he was losing her. Afraid as he'd always been to lose anyone. "Shinran, do you - have you ever loved Kayupa?"

She tilted her head. "As a friend?"

Skar shook his head, and every move hurt more than a thousands cuts with a blade, knowing he'd put himself in a situation that would make or break him. "As more than a friend. Have you ever thought of him in another way? Ever desired him?"

She pulled away from him. "What?"

"Did you ever - make a choice?"

She shook her head. "No, Skar. I never did. I never had to make a choice."

Skar remembered his feeling of inadequacy when being in the presence of Kayupa, his control and strength surpassing Skar's by miles. He'd always had to live up to Kayupa in his own mind, and measuring himself by the same standards he believed others did so too. He believed Shinran even had measured Skar next to Kayupa, judging each to find the better man.

The Force held them both in its breath, in a tightly sealed bubble, while they searched to find a common ground.

"You were never torn between us?"

She smiled. "No. You had all the things I wanted, the things I needed. Kayupa, he never even seemed to be an option. Something about him is preoccupied, he searches, and I don't want that. I want someone to stand still with."

Skar wanted to smile but wasn't sure he could. "What do I have that he doesn't?"

It didn't take her long to answer. "Nothing."

"Then why?"

Shinran touched his cheek. "Because you're everything he's not." She leaned in and kissed his lips. "I love you because you're nothing like him."

Skar nodded. "So you never found it impossible to choose? The answer was always obvious?"

"Yes."

Skar nodded again, resolute this time and stood before her. Her eyes seemed to look for some spark of hope in him that just wasn't there this time. "Then you know how I feel now about Kayupa." Skar closed his eyes. "There is no choice to make. To help him is the only option."

She nodded, though he knew she didn't agree with it. "I don't want any of us to get hurt."

"We … don't know what's gonna happen, Shinran. The future is always in motion. We can't read it."

Her eyes locked with his and Skar could feel her making a hard decision inside. "I want you to promise me something. If you find yourself in a situation where I can't be saved, don't risk yourself."

"What?"

"Don't you _ever _sacrifice yourself because of me."

Skar wanted to nod to show her that he understood but something felt very wrong about the conversation. And her talking about sacrificing herself made him feel sick inside. "I can't promise you that. I will do whatever I can for us to be together, to keep you safe."

She looked unaffected. "You can never sacrifice yourself because of me," she repeated herself. "You're too important."

Skar wasn't sure how to respond to her words, and he found that it didn't matter. He nodded to her, but he knew inside he would never let her endure any pain. "Don't talk about it like it's already over."

She shrugged, her shoulders weak and her eyes telling him something else than what she said. "Like you said; the future is always in motion. We can't read it."

* * *

"I am a Jedi. Fighting has been my life. Its not always been clean. I've left much blood in my wake and I have a lot to walk through yet. After my death they will have to wash my boots thoroughly to get the blood off," he snorted at his own words, "but I don't suspect there will be much to bury."

Sasori listened to the sob story, not affected by it, merely just hoping the Jedi would save time and shoot himself right now.

The Jedi turned and Sasori shuddered at the loss of compassion behind the blue eyes. "Don't worry, Sasori. I'm not gonna kill you. Killing may be the only thing I'm good at, but I won't do it if it can be avoided."

Sasori smiled uneasily. "Thank you. What now?"

"You're gonna tell me how to get to the Jentarana."

Sasori wanted to laugh. "Listen, we're competing forces. I still have some pride."

The Jedi snorted. "You lost your pride the second you began selling weapons. You're a politician, not a warrior."

Sasori begged to differ. "I make weapons - "

"You make weapons! But you don't fight. You provide the tools but you don't care about the outcome. You can't care what damage the Jentarana can do. You care about profit. Money."

Sasori shook his head. "Money - "

"Am I wrong?"

Sasori couldn't make his tongue say the words, because he didn't know the answer.

"You're not a warrior. You don't care about the consequences if the Jentarana falls into the wrong hands. You don't care what damage it can do."

That he did know. "You just told me what you were gonna do with it. What makes you think you're right?"

The Jedi turned his back on him. "You wouldn't understand. You're not a Jedi."

Sasori frowned. "What you got planned didn't sound very _Jedi_ to me."

"Again you wouldn't understand." The Jedi looked in the mirror. The Jedi seemed to reflect on something, something painful. "I am a prisoner of fate, a prisoner of emotion and destiny, the curse in all genes. My past cannot be undone, nor my future."

Sasori snorted. "Great speech. It makes no difference."

"The Galaxy needs leadership to strive."

Sasori spat. "People can follow any movement, that doesn't mean they understand it. Safety is an illusion. They just want to _think_ they're safe. But the more laws you make, the more thieves you get! What makes you think you can change all that?"

"Man must believe in something, and in absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones." The Jedi hugged himself. "Its time for an era where power doesn't grow out of the barrel of a blaster. Time for compassion. The greatest glory of a free-born people is to transmit that freedom to their children, to the next generations. The future belongs to those who live intensely in the present."

"But - "

They both stopped talking as the room rocked under duress. Then it resumed to normal. The Jedi closed his eyes for a second. Then he opened them again.

"We've landed. We're on Soliton."

Sasori tried to pull at his restraints but nothing happened.

The Jedi walked over. "Listen. I've got no more time for you. I'll find the Jentarana without your help."

Sasori felt his fists clutching the pipe. "You won't make it. Its too well guarded."

"But its about to be moved, isn't it, Sasori?" The Jedi smiled cunningly. "I can snag it in transit."

"You can't! The Empire will be guarding it too closely - " Sasori's voice slurred as he just realized he'd signed his own termination.

The Jedi reached for his blaster and placed the barrel in Sasori's mouth instead. "So you _are _selling it to the Empire?"

Sasori was barely able to nod and couldn't help but taste the barrel's taste of ozone.

The Jedi pulled the barrel out and his face clouded with contempt. "Don't you have any honor at all? Did you even stop to think about what you were doing?"

Sasori pleaded. "It wasn't my decision! Raydoen is the one in charge!"

The Jedi tilted his head in curiosity. "Raydoen Jayant?" The Jedi holstered his sidearm. "I promised I wouldn't kill you. And I'll keep that promise." The Jedi looked at him and Sasori saw mercy in his eyes. "Sasori, get out of here, while you still can. Someone will come and find you. Use that new chance to get out of this place. Start over."

Sasori shook his head and spat on the floor. "Just go, _Jedi_," he said the words with the greatest sarcasm, "I'll be fine."

The Jedi nodded, clearly having given up on helping him. Sasori didn't want his help anyway. Seemingly breaking his promise the Jedi lifted his blaster back up.

Sasori's blood froze.

"Wait! You said you weren't going to kill me! You promised!"

The Jedi trained the handgun on Sasori's forehead. "As a Jedi you're taught that even a hundred steps in the right direction, won't make up for the one step you took in the wrong direction."

The Jedi pulled the trigger and Sasori felt the heat coming out of the barrel long before he felt the shot burn into his forehead.

* * *

Far from the desert planet of Kryuu and the bustling metropolis of Nar Shaddaa, Soliton with its iron-gray surface and a pearly glow hovered silently like a specter from which Skar's fate would be decided. Its ashy landscape of scattered craters and huge rock mountains suggested a world in which no indigenous life existed. Its paper thin surface, in some places, was cracked in large areas and huge canyons drove like a knife through the landscapes.

The gray world loomed into sight, as the _Witty _retracted from hyperspace. The gray ball grew in size as the small but fast _Witty_ flew straight for it.

Skar looked around at all his controls. "We're clear." His eyes locked on the planet hanging outside in space like a gray pearl.

_What a desolate place. _

His fingers tapped the controls and Skar read the readout on a console. "We're early. No ships in sight."

Next to him Jedi Master Bo-Hi Dzog shook his head slowly. Then he looked at Skar with sad enlightenment. "No, we are late. They have already landed."

Skar played his Master's hunch and reached out with the Force. Indeed Skar could feel some small hints of life-forms moving around. Skar read the console again. "Four ships. One shuttle, the _Nosfery_, two starfighters; X-Wing class, and a transport, _Offeyyu_, a big one."

Master Bo-Hi nodded. "The transport. That's our target."

Skar felt something in the Force. A familiar sense. The presence of his uncle. "The Jentarana is onboard the transport."

Master Bo-Hi looked at him, his face painted with confirmation. "And so is Kayupa."

Skar was about to try and reach Kayupa with the Force when a beeping noise came from the controls. As Skar checked it he found it to be a homing beacon. Skar checked its origin.

"The _Koniduz_!"

Behind him Shinran came up to stand beside him. Skar could sense her rushing heart. She pointed out at the stars. "There!"

Skar and Master Bo-Hi looked out to where she pointed. The _Koniduz _was there, hovering silently in space, its crimson hull an easy recognizable mark, just above Soliton. Skar reached out to hail the ship but his hand was intercepted by Master Bo-Hi's trembling claws.

"Kayupa is not onboard."

Skar held out his palm. "What is the ship doing here?"

"He must have programmed its computer to follow the transport as a decoy. So they wouldn't suspect he was onboard the transport."

Skar smiled. It sounded like Kayupa's thinking alright. "Good thinking."

Master Bo-Hi just stared at the consoles. "It may have worked to his advantage, but not ours."

"Huh?"

Master Bo-Hi pointed out the screen as two ships came streaking out from behind the _Koniduz _to meet them. Their S-foils locked in attack-position, the two fighters fanned out to attack from different vectors, four wings on each fighter blasting red beams of light.

_The X-wings._

Skar powered up the sublight drives and directed all the ship's energy to them, as he pushed the ship's nose down, diving beneath the two starfighters as they swooped over them, scarlet beams blasting from their cannons.

Skar eased the ship back and fired up its engines, heading straight for the gray orb hovering before him.

Master Bo-Hi began running a weapons check. "So much for coming in quietly. We'll have to face those fighters if we are to destroy them."

Although Skar felt connected to the ship, he wasn't sure he wanted to test his skills in a dogfight. "Let's just hope we can outrun them."

Behind the speeding Witty, the two starfighters broke off and came around behind them, their lasers lighting up. Beams passed alongside the Witty, as well as over it, while Skar jerked the ship around to dodge the shots. Controlling the ship with an expertise he could only blame on his connection to the ship through his psychometry. Skar pulled the ship up in a figure eight pattern, losing the starfighters in their disorientation, but it didn't take them long to catch up with him.

"Don't we have any weapons we can use against them?" Shinran asked behind him.

Master Bo-Hi sat pulled back into his seat. "All our weapon systems demand our target is in front of us."

Skar cursed. He didn't want to risk coming headfirst into those guys. The chance of him foiling the attack and getting them all killed prevented him from even considering it.

When he turned the ship back around to face Soliton, the planet had taken up most of his viewscreen and Skar punched the throttle again, intending to ram through the planet's atmosphere.

* * *

Raydoen Jayant reached his chamber, just as the small beeping on his desk console began. He tapped the switch and a scurrying voice came through.

"Dr. Oteyu here, Master. It seems a second ship was following us. This one has live subjects onboard."

Raydoen licked his fangs in confusion. _Another ship? _"Any identification on the second ship?"

The speaker rumbled. "Identified as the _Witty_, Master. No owner enlisted."

_This Jedi is amusing. He brought reinforcements. _"Any word on the stowaway Jedi?"

Dr. Oteyu's voice was very low. "We've…just found Sasori Dragus."

Raydoen's brows raised. "Dead?"

"He's alive. Stunned," the doctor didn't sound too happy

Raydoen however was glad to hear Sasori was not dead.. "The Jedi has already gotten to him. Send him to me. What are we doing about this new ship?"

The doctor said; "I've launched the two starfighters to intercept it. Do you want it alive?"

Raydoen scratched his goatee. "No. I only have one last game to play. Kill them, whoever they are."

"As you wish."

"Any word from Admiral Stamper?"

Dr. Oteyu's voice responded with determination. "He should be arriving in ten minutes."

Raydoen looked at the chrono on his desk. _There is still time. The transfer should take about an hour. My game is about to start. _He opened a drawer and retrieved an old dusty energy clip from a blaster. One he'd had in his possession for two years.

A reminder.

Then Raydoen looked over at the two dangi blades hanging on the wall behind his desk. He smiled, exposing his fangs.

"Then I must dress more adequately for our respectable stowaway. You are in charge of the transfer. Raydoen out."

The connection faded.

* * *

"This is Alpha Lead, in pursuit."

The X-wing pilot pushed his green fighter to its limits as he entered the gray glass canyon, forcing the ship to go as fast as it could manage without falling apart. The walls of the canyon shone brightly as his red lasers reflected in their surface. He knew the walls could cave easily even with the slightest tremor, creating a landslide of sharpened glass shards.

Using his instinct to guide his hands over his control-stick, he centered his T-65 fighter directly in the wake of the _Witty_, letting off quick bursts of red laser fire. His torpedoes were depleted, and he cursed that fact. The torpedoes hadn't been loaded up, since their take-off had been conducted in a rush. He would have liked to have had just one right about now.

He hated sloppy killings.

The fighter was top of its kind, as usually armed with everything from proton torpedo launchers to laser cannons. His astromech droid, situated just behind the cockpit, assisted him by watching all the fighter's onboard systems while he concentrated on the hunt.

The _Witty _dove hard, missing the canyon floor by centimeters, and his X-wing flew directly overhead. Pulling back on his stick, he performed a loop that put him right behind the ship again, along with Alpha Two, his wingman.

"Two, got any torps?"

"Negative, Lead. Old fashion way?"

"No choice, Two," he smiled and tightened his grip on the control-stick, "time to bring the fire down."

Gray walls of rock rushed by him on both sides. With guns blazing, the pilot got as close to the _Witty _as he could afford without hurting his fighter from the _Witty'_sexhausts. His loop had given him some distance to the _Witty_, but he closed the distance within seconds, delivering painful shots to the _Witty_'s shields.

Orders were to kill, not salvage.

Emptying his lasers in the stern shield of the _Witty_ wouldn't take long, but it was a nasty kill. He preferred quick kills. There was no sense in prolonging death for anyone, not even the enemy.

He spiraled down, as the _Witty _headed in a new direction. "Two, see if you can get in front of it."

"I'll try, Lead."

He pulled left while Alpha Two pulled right, putting distance between them, as well as giving the crippled _Witty _a little more space.

He leveled out and put himself directly behind and above the _Witty_, keeping his eye on Alpha Two as the fighter pounded the fleeing _Witty _with precise and relentless blasting.

* * *

The _Witty _buckled beneath their feet as another blast rocked the ship. Skar checked his readouts. "Direct all energy to our stern shields!"

Master Bo-Hi tapped switches. "Done, but it won't be enough. We can take one more shot and then the shields are gone."

Skar read his screens again. The _Witty _was cruising through a valley not far from the transport site. They were a few hundred meters from the Jentarana. _Walking distance_, Skar noted. Skar lunged the _Witty _into a roll and loop, which gave it no real distance to the fighters but would certainly confuse them.

They had no chance of taking out the X-wings, their weapons all required for the target to be in front of them. The maneuverability of the fighters greatly undermined the _Witty's_. They had to land, fast, if they were going to survive. But how could they land and get rid of the fighters at the same time?

If he could get them on the ground they could get to the Jentarana on foot. No doubt the Rancor League would send troopers after them, which was another problem. But they wouldn't send troopers if they thought they were dead.

Skar rotated the ship 360 on its own axis to evade shots, and flew closer to the ground, closer than he would have liked. Wild red blasts exploded on the landscape in front of them.

Then an earth-shattering blast pounded the ship down hard to the left, sending it hurtling towards the valley floor. Skar regained his awareness and checked the computer only to see all the screens turn black and the entire ship going dead all around him.

They'd lost power.

"Master, what happened!"

Master Bo-Hi reached out to the Force. "We've lost the stabilizer brace."

"So?" Skar looked out the canopy to see the wing lost on the left side of the hull, the ship was flying straight ahead into the valley. And they couldn't change its trajectory without the brace.

Skar got the point. "Oh."

"Shields went with it. We're dead in the air." He pointed out at the oncoming valley-wall. "We're going down and nothing can stop it."

"What about ejecting?"

Master Bo-Hi shook his head. "Not without power."

Skar closed his eyes, calmed himself, and allowed the Force to enter him. Through it he saw a way, but a dangerous one. But with crucial time slipping away faster and faster, he knew it had be done.

_Master, is what I'm thinking possible?_

Next to him, Master Bo-Hi saw what he had in mind and nodded. _Its possible for us. I don't know about Shinran._

_Don't worry. I'll protect her. _Skar prepared himself for impact.

* * *

Admiring the force his wingman used, the X-wing pilot took a quick glance away from Alpha Two -

"Two, look out!"

He pulled left and up to avoid flying directly into the same suicidal fate as the _Witty_. A blinding flash stole away his vision for many seconds, but he concentrated on pulling back as hard as he could on his stick. When vision returned he found himself momentarily in the midst of an explosion, tendrils of fire reaching out and clawing at his craft. He cursed his own mistake and forgot all about the _Witty _as he concentrated on staying alive.

Huge blocks of rocks and sharpened shards flew past, each of them threatening to end his life with a single touch.

"Two, forget about target, stay alive," he stuttered through barred teeth.

"Trying to, Lead."

They cleared the canyon at the last minute and he sighed mournfully. With one eye on his screens he saw that the _Witty _had exploded in a huge ball of fire against the side of the valley. All that remained was falling flaming debris and a burning heap of fire on the floor of the canyon.

He settled the X-wing in a guard patrol around the wreck site, while standing by for orders. He watched inside the cockpit of his X-wing, as the remains of the _Witty _became a glowing dot in the darkness of the canyon.

Satisfied with the result he looped his X-wing around towards home base.

"A bad way to go, Two. Let's get out of here."

* * *

Skar dared to open his eyes.

The world was on fire. He was surrounded by the bright flare of the burning ship. He could hear the fire cracking and small explosions as the fire reached fuel pods or other flammable instruments. He looked down and saw fire. Looked all around him and saw only fire. Pushed back to form a bubble of protection around him, Shinran and Master Bo-Hi.

They were sitting in the middle of an explosion. Skar looked left and made out the blurred shape of his crouching Master Bo-Hi, deep in the Force, maintaining the bubble. Skar added his own strength to it, but still enjoyed watching it unfold. Skar held on to the Force with a delicate touch. It was like stringing a robe between two trees, leave it loose and the rope would fall, hold it too tight and the rope might break. Balance was the key.

Skar looked down at Shinran sleeping in his arms, her arms folded into his. She was asleep. Better that way, he told himself. Skar was afraid she would panic if she knew what was happening around them. The flames grew thicker and the air around them shook as the torpedo launcher caught on flames and exploded.

Skar looked up to see rocks falling on their bubble only to bounce away and die in the flames. Pieces of what looked like glass, melted on the bubble and ran down the sides like gray silver. It looked like it was raining and burning at the same time.

Then Skar felt Shinran coming alive again in his arms and she looked up at him lovingly. She saw his smile. Then she looked at the fire, but instead of panicking she smiled too. She held onto him and felt protected in his arms. She didn't panic. She knew she was safe. She'd seen his smile and knew if he was smiling then everything was fine. Skar hugged her tight and held his lips to her hair. Hugging her so hard he was almost crushing her, but she didn't complain.

They were together in this holy twist of reality. They were seeing something normal men would never see and survive. They were sharing this experience, this paradox of life. To be standing on the borderline of life and dreams. They celebrated the extraordinary moment with a passionate kiss, knowing they were perfectly safe within the love of the Force.

Skar heard the starfighters' engines roar above them as they left airspace and headed back in the direction that he knew their base was. Their scheme had worked.

When the flaming ended and it was safe to move on, they started climbing through the rubble. Skar patted himself free of dust and caught Shinran standing by Master Bo-Hi, they were both staring up the side of the canyon, a section of it looked climbable. Master Bo-Hi would lift Shinran with the Force and then he would join Skar in climbing the wall together. Shinran couldn't make it alone, but they could with the Force.

Skar began walking towards them, but suddenly he felt dizziness trip his legs. He felt like he was standing on ice. His legs blew away under him and he fell facedown on the ground. He wasn't in any physical pain, but a part of him had suffered nonetheless.

He heard Shinran running to his side and felt her hands touch his face. "Skar, get up." She sounded sad. "What's the matter?"

He didn't know, but he managed to stand and supported himself against Shinran. Master Bo-Hi came walking slowly towards them, blurry at first then later crystal clear. His face the very image of sadness. "Master, what's going on?"

Master Bo-Hi's face lit up as he looked back at the burning corpse of the _Witty_. "You're feeling the ship die."

Skar shook his head. "But I've never felt something like a _ship _die. Why can I feel it in the Force?"

"Because the ship to you is more than just a ship."

Shinran nodded to Master Bo-Hi, she understood. "Its his uncle's ship, right? That's why?"

Master Bo-Hi nodded. "You're feeling a part of Skind Kjoil dying. The Kjoil were closely intoned to everything in the Force, even the soulless."

Skar felt like he understood, though wasn't sure. A Jedi could feel connected to a lightsaber, but he hadn't heard of a Jedi being emotionally bound to a starship. Skar remembered hearing starship captains back on Nar Shaddaa sitting in dusty bars talking about their ships as if they were lovers or mistresses.

He laughed slightly and it eased his mood, but the feeling of death still bitterly hung in the back of his throat.

Seeing Master Bo-Hi and Shinran already walking away from him, Skar followed after them, signing it off as just another Jedi trait. Brushing it off as another gift given to him by the Force.

Unimportant.

* * *

Kayupa shrugged the last remnants of dizziness off.

_He's here. Skar is here. _

He looked out and around the corner of the corridor. They would have found Sasori Dragus by now. He would then warn the guards and mercenaries to increase security around the Jentarana. And all Kayupa would have to do was to follow the flow of guards. Skar being there was a great joy to Kayupa, but one he had not suspected so early

_Things are not ready to be revealed yet. _Kayupa felt the last of the wavering dizziness disappear and he scratched his beard. _A shame I had to lose the Witty. But, no matter. When I leave here, it will be in the cockpit of the Jentarana. _

Pulling on the Force again, he snaked himself around the corner and used the Force to disguise himself from two lonely guards, frozen in time. He walked by them and sliced open the hatchway they were guarding without them even seeing him. The effect would last until someone touched the guards again. It was a Jedi technique, like persuasion or blinding.

Kayupa sealed the hatch behind him and found himself in a towering cargo bay. Bigger than the secondary bay from which he'd entered the _Offeyyu _in the first place. With a quick touch of the Force he knew to go straight across the hangar to the separate hangar beyond it where the Jentarana was.

_I'm close now. Close to destiny.

* * *

_

Sasori Dragus was not happy.

The red marks on his wrists still hurt from the cuffs and the bulge on his face was throbbing from where the Jedi had punched him. And he could also feel the pounding headache he'd gotten from the stunblast. The wound on his hand from the incident in the workstation had somehow magically clogged up, leaving only a scar from the experience. That was amazing to him. The wound should still be open and the bleeding shouldn't have stopped. Yet it looked months old now.

The suicidal Jedi had worked his magic on him, no doubt.

He walked determinedly, escorted by his bodyguard, to Raydoen's office. He entered the office and found Raydoen leaning up against the desk. Sasori took note of the room, because it looked almost sickeningly like a cave. No, not cave. More like a tomb. The room was giving off some aura of evil that clung to Sasori's eyes, making him slightly wary inside that maybe it was a tomb for _him_. The vampire's eyes were glowing red and the tattoo was burning brightly on its own fuel.

The vampire had donned his dark suit and the black as night robe. The look on Raydoen's face was not a happy one as he held out his palm.

"Sit down."

The door whooshed shut behind Sasori, locking the bodyguard outside, and he felt soaring pride creep its way into his mouth. "I prefer to stand."

Raydoen snarled. "It wasn't a request, Inferior!"

Sasori found reservoirs of anger inside himself that he had never touched before. "Sing it to someone who cares, Raydoen. I'm through taking orders from you. I _resign _from the Rancor League."

Raydoen looked surprised. His mouth opened and closed with a sudden exhalation of air. "Resign?" Surprisingly Raydoen began laughing and clapping his hands together in odd enjoyment. "At last you find the truth inside, the warrior in you steps out. The cry of manhood."

Sasori snorted. "Keep your preaching to yourself, Raydoen! I'm not impressed."

Raydoen's smile was even grander and he pulled away from the desk. His hands were rubbing against each other in obvious excitement. "This Jedi has worked his spells on you, and he has done so well. A delightful prize he is indeed."

Sasori stepped forth. "He didn't…" Sasori stopped talking. Had the Jedi done something to influence his mind? He didn't know, but right now he didn't care. "He showed me what was wrong with my life - "

Raydoen shook his head, silencing Sasori with that mere gesture. "No, he told you lies. Denied you your right and your pride as a warrior. Took away your dignity."

Sasori dissolved into himself. Had the Jedi actually corrupted him? Had he filled him with illusions about himself? What the Jedi had said had made sense, he wasn't acknowledging what kinds of damage he was bringing into the world. He had been too absorbed in profit, not considering the consequences. All he really wanted was to design something and see it come to life, but he'd always imagined his designs were helping people, not crippling them.

Sasori lifted his head and looked into the demon's eyes. "What is the truth then?"

Raydoen dropped himself into a leather couch, crossed his legs and stared at Sasori with absolute calm. "That we are warriors. You sold weapons, but you did so under _my _orders. You hired mercenaries, under _my _orders. You are my warrior, fighting for me and _my_ cause."

Sasori contemplated ways to insult the demonic man that wouldn't get him killed, but came up empty. "What cause?"

"The Rancor League is through being a spectator in life. We're going to branch out. With the Jentarana, we can rid the Galaxy of these last remnants of the Empire. After that - the Rebellion."

Sasori wanted to spit Raydoen in the face and he remembered the Jedi's words. "In the end, the truth is revealed. You're a _politician_, not a warrior."

Raydoen shrugged. "Wars have always furthered politics. Every politician knows that weapons and soldiers are the easiest ways of convincing the general public. The easiest way of getting support, even if it is forced."

"So that is the way its gonna go? You're gonna take on the Galaxy?" Sasori couldn't believe the man was so deranged. Stuffed with bloodlust and megalomania. "Was that why you got into the weapon market?"

Raydoen waved his hand. "No, that was merely by accident. Later I realized it would put me in the center of many battles, and I would meet many adversaries. I've fought in many battles but they were all for myself."

Sasori shook his head. "I used to think of myself as a soldier, maybe even a warrior, but only because I was in the war business. I've never killed anyone. I've never seen combat. I create weapons, but I've never used them for real. I am capable of creating destruction, yet I've never harmed anyone!" Sasori felt his insides writhing in disgust in himself. "That's not a warrior, its the direct opposite. A creator." Sasori looked the vampire right in the eyes. "What do you hope to get out of challenging the entire Galaxy?"

Raydoen's smile vanished and he looked at his hands, those pale works of murder. "You know, Inferior, all my life I've killed, hunted, shed blood, carved bones, destroyed. Never created, only devastated. Never given, always taken. It is the purpose of the warrior. His life is nothing in comparison to the battles he wins. My clan-heritage binds me to the bloodlust, the craving of drinking that reddest of wines."

For once Sasori thought he saw silent, but somewhat sympathetic, sanity in those red eyes.

"I am a Dfieeluain, our beliefs follows the code of finding only release from all the killing in death. We search our whole lives for challenges. Looking for the one that is destined to kill us. That is how all life works. Warriors meet and clash and the strongest survives to fight another one, and another one. Until only the strongest warrior remains. The victor. I myself am not revolutionizing the Rancor League for personal conquest. I have no interest in marching soldiers all over the Galaxy and spreading fear. I care about finding peace in this life."

Sasori glowered at the vampire. "What about the revolution? If you don't care for it, why did you mention it?"

"It is my gift to you, Inferior."

Sasori only nodded. Not really surprised. "But how am I supposed to take the Jentarana away from Admiral Stamper?"

Raydoen said nothing, his eyes blank. He didn't care. "You're a creator; be creative."

Sasori frowned. "What about you?"

"Death abandons no one, not even me. I went to Soliton for one purpose." His eyes brightened and Sasori caught a sheen from the dangi blades in the vampire's belt. "To fight the Jedi."

Sasori's eyes went wide. "The Jedi?"

Raydoen made himself really comfortable. "I planned for the Jedi to come here so I could face him. So I could fight him. This world is an illusion to the Dfieeluains, its not the real world. In this world we are warriors, and we can only achieve our enlightenment through death, so we can cross to the real world. And only so if we die at the hands of someone truly worth our blood. The Jedi is my redemption."

Sasori wasn't sure he understood. "So - you're out here to die?"

"Only if the Jedi is superior to me." Raydoen rose from his couch and walked over to stand in front of Sasori. "He is the first who has shown himself worthy of claiming victory over me. I don't pretend that I might survive an encounter with the Jedi, so if I die, the Rancor League is yours."

Sasori waved the gift away. "I like it the way it is. I would never commit war against anyone, not for domination."

Raydoen crossed to him, his eyes alive with freakish calm. "But you see, it is in you. The warrior. For a long time I've watched you scour your way around here, conspiring, planning, and what has it gotten you? You're not looking for a sale. You're looking for a cause. I'm giving you something to live for; and that is war."

Sasori felt something cringing inside him. Some undetected pain. "That's not what I'm looking for. I'm looking for hope that this life doesn't have to be all about pain. Some meaning to it all. I don't want to know that my being alive kills someone else."

"The warrior in you cries out for air."

Sasori shook his head. "He cries out for truce."

Raydoen snarled. "Truce?"

"Peace. Something that makes me sure that the work I do will someday not be necessary. That someday war will be obsolete. I can't run anymore from the man I am inside. And I can't identify myself with the warrior ideal you've laid on me, Raydoen. It's just not what I want with my life."

Raydoen looked angry and disappointed. "Perhaps I was wrong about you, Inferior. There isn't a shred of a warrior in you. Only a humanitarian. A philosopher. A poet."

Sasori wanted to turn his back to Raydoen but feared the dangi blades would be unsheathed if he did.

"How clear truth is when it's curtains are pulled back."

_Now who's the poet? _Sasori thought.

"You and I seek the same thing, Inferior. Peace. Only unlike you I'm proud of the warrior inside me."

Sasori swallowed as a sudden illumination cleared his mind of an old bothering question. "So that's why you call me Inferior. Because I could never kill you?"

Raydoen smiled, his fangs shining in the dim light, a sight that would haunt Sasori throughout eternity.

"Isn't it reason enough?"

Raydoen moved with his feline quality, his dangi blades out, the first striking through Sasori's ribcage and the second blade slicing his throat. The blades retracted, spewing blood over the floor like a geyser. Sasori dropped to his knees, blood gushing from throat and chest.

Raydoen moved his face in and licked the blood from Sasori's throat. "Even your blood tastes of cowardice. The body holding you has been killed, Sasori Dragus. Your unchained spirit free to find hopelessness in the afterlife."

Sasori wasn't even dead, when the vampire sank his teeth into his throat and came away with strips of bloodied flesh hanging between his fangs. He spat Sasori's own blood in his face. Sasori finally reeled over and his dead body slammed against the carpeted floor.

Raydoen spat saliva and blood on the corpse as he walked out of his chambers.

Outside the door Sasori's bodyguard was standing guard. He looked questioningly at Raydoen, saw the blood running down his chin, dripping on the floor. The vampire snarled and pointed to the corpse in the doorway.

"You're his bodyguard," Raydoen turned and left, "now he won't be so hard to keep track off."

* * *

In between the stars and the gray orb of Soliton, a grand wedged-shaped vessel winked into existence, tearing itself free of hyperspace and arriving to announce its supreme superiority. The _Atrophos' _engines roaring and its very presence an omen of evil, the Star Destroyer immediately settled into a stationary orbit.

Admiral Ankit Stamper smiled from inside the bridge, a certain giddiness manifesting in his heart and mind, as the planet of Soliton hovered before his eyes. To him it was more than a target, it was a sign of getting closer to the goal, the resurrection of the glorious Empire.

He turned to his General Koan, whom snapped to attention. Koan was the stereotypical Imperial officer, lean and thin, a narrow face with sharp corners. "Launch two troop-carriers at once," Stamper ordered. "Kill whomever is done there and bring me the Jentarana unspoiled."

General Koan's face paled for a moment as he looked up, surprised. "Admiral?"

"You have your orders."

General Koan remained perplexed. "Yes, Admiral, but why attack? The Rancor League is one of our most loyal assets."

Admiral Stamper nodded. "Now they will be a reminder for the _rest _of our assets."

The General stood his ground. "You're making a mistake."

The Admiral was usually able to control his temper quite well, but now was one of those times where it was important his orders were fulfilled immediately, not to produce any particular result, but to feed his own desires.

This was _his _moment, and he wasn't going to let someone else ruin it. "You will issue the command. I want Raydoen's head thrust on a spike and showcase it for the rest of the Galaxy to see. Then they will know that the Empire still breathes and that we will not let some tiny Rebel faction take over everything we have created."

The General nodded and marched off the bridge.

Admiral Stamper moved to his chair and read the details on the planet and its occupants on his small screen. Four ships were situated on the ground. No visible defenses; a mistake Raydoen would regret in the coming hours.

_So he chose to bring additional ships anyway? That was only to be suspected, I suppose. Nevertheless those two starfighters will be no match. Soon my troopers will scale the transport and the Jentarana will be brought to me. _

Outside the Star Destroyer two troop-carriers dropped from inside its belly and floated gracefully down towards Soliton's atmosphere. Onboard some hundred stormtroopers were preparing themselves for the battle that would win or lose the Empire's future.

Admiral Stamper smiled and his bulbous cheeks looked like bubbles.

_The Empire Reborn is about to make its first grab for power. One of many. _

_A shame it has to be such an unworthy battle.

* * *

_

Skar Kjoil came running up the hill and as he reached the top he flattened himself on the ground. In the not so far distance he saw the transport ship, a huge bulk of a ship shaped like an oval, except for a cavity in the front of the ship where the bridge was. The engine department was a rectangle of some twenty drives. Skar reached out to it, he could sense the minds of some forty men inside it.

The starfighters were abandoned just outside the transport for re-powering. Although it seemed like a small group of enemies, Skar still felt something disruptive in the Force.

And he didn't like it.

Although he didn't give much credit to the abilities of mercenaries he still couldn't let go of the gut feeling that him, Master Bo-Hi and Shinran were not enough. They were too small in numbers to take over a ship like that. Perhaps they should have joined up with the Rebels before going for this.

Skar shook it off. It was too late now. They couldn't wait. He almost voiced the concern to Master Bo-Hi lying next to him but stopped since he knew what the Master would say.

_The Force will guide us._

The sweat on his hands from anxiety and the hot atmosphere on the planet had made his palms sticky, his entire body moist and the stealth suit clinging to his body. He blocked it all out with the Force and concentrated on the mission. In the Force he found a sympathizing coldness.

Skar looked up at Master Bo-Hi determined. "The Jentarana is near."

Master Bo-Hi nodded.

Skar sniffed in the acrid smell of ash and sulfur. "Master, what are they doing here? If they're going to sell the Jentarana, where are the buyers?"

Master Bo-Hi looked over at him. "Good eye, Skar. I was wondering that same thing. The buyers should show up soon. This isn't a permanent station. There isn't any plant life or indigenous life-forms to sustain an operation here. Being the numbers they are, they wouldn't survive a week here."

Skar listened while pulling out his blaster.

Next to him, Master Bo-Hi suddenly raised his filtered eyes to the sky and seemed to have found something. "Ship," he said before he closed his eyes and deepened in the Force.

"Just one?"

Master Bo-Hi opened his eyes again. "_Two _ships coming down towards us. And another ship. A big one. Many men onboard. Many minds." The Jedi Master shivered. "A Star Destroyer."

Skar felt his own heart beating rapidly. "The Empire."

"I can sense a great amount of spirits on the two ships on their way."

Skar frowned. "Stormtroopers, no doubt."

"They will advance on this compound, aggressively."

Skar gave Bo-Hi a sidelong glance. "Fouling the deal?"

"Maybe. The Empire must be getting desperate."

Skar smiled. "That will work to our advantage. Let them take out each other."

The Jedi Master saw things from a different perspective. "Our enemy has just doubled in force, Skar. This will not be easy."

Skar looked up at the sky but saw nothing. "What do we do? Hide?"

Master Bo-Hi shook his head. "No. We might lose Kayupa. He is still in there alone. He will need our help." He turned to Skar and lowered his head. "We will face this enemy head on."

Skar looked up as he heard the familiar sound of engines roaring up above. Two, as white as could be, shuttles dropped down to the surface in the middle of the camp. White armor clattered out and soon a small war broke out.

The soldiers of the Empire struck with frightening anonymity, their faces completely obscured by unmistakable white armor. The stormtroopers set up a few strongholds, while blasting away at the guards running around the camp floor. The Rancor League's shuttle, _Nosfery_, was immediately blown up and the starfighters followed soon after. Skar saw the carnage unfold as the stormtroopers took possession of the outer station. Only the transport remained to be taken under control.

The transport was big however, and Skar estimated it would take them quite a while to take it all. Twenty stormtroopers remained guarding the outer camp, while the others filed up and advanced inside the transport.

Skar looked behind him at Shinran. He worried for her safety. He climbed down the hill and caressed her cheek. "You ready for this?"

She nodded bravely. "Go do what you have to do."

"Wait here."

As he began to climb up again, she pulled him back down and raised a finger in front of her face. "The only thing you need to promise is that you make it back in one piece."

Skar reassured her with a smug smile. "If I die, it'll be your fault."

"Why?"

Skar smiled. "I'm sore all over!"

* * *

The Jedi Master launched high into the clouds like a missile. Below him some twenty stormtroopers found and followed him with their eyes. His descent seemed to last forever, as if gravity itself held no control over his leap, much to the bedazzlement of the stormtroopers whom did not believe their own eyes. They couldn't perceive anything capable of moving like that.

Master Bo-Hi's cloak flowed behind him like a pair of wings for a bird in flight. His plunge had been at full speed, though perceived like slow motion, and his final landing should have crushed him.

But Master Bo-Hi landed on all four, perfectly softening his landing with the aid of the Force. His palms and feet softened the deadly touchdown with supernatural power. He stood on all fours for just a few seconds, to let the impression fade inside the troopers, draped in his cloak which covered all of his body like a blanket, his head covered by his hood.

Finally he raised himself slowly. His bended joints seemed to work forever to stretch him into his full length. He stood tall, in their eyes a dark nightmare, clothed in cloak and hood, no visible signs of him inside the cloak.

A shadow of a shadow.

All troopers turned their blasters at him, but none dared shoot at what their minds had trouble understanding. Their eyes, still trying to piece together the mystery, didn't see his hand under the cloak casually dropping to his side, clutching the lightsaber in his fist, releasing it from the belt and holding it ready by his side.

Master Bo-Hi's other hand moved up to pull back the hood, showing off his head and dead-calm, probing eyes. The Jedi Master felt the Force flowing through him, brushing off the fear inside the troopers. He remained calm, in complete control.

The closest trooper shook his helmet, trying to brush the phantom's persona off as a mind-trick. "Don't move!"

Master Bo-Hi lifted the lightsaberhandle to his chest, in plain sight of the troopers, but none reacted. He held the cylinder in place in front of himself, obviously preparing for battle.

"Don't _move_!" The trooper repeated himself.

Master Bo-Hi's fingers worked around the controls on the handle, almost caressing them, as if he was comforting an old friend, or touching the shoulder of someone who was sad. Master Bo-Hi smiled behind his weapon.

"Put your weapon down!"

Just then another perfect flight came from the hill, flying over them at a great height, this one clothed in a gray stealth suit and with the same graceful bird-like appearance that Master Bo-Hi had executed. This one more perfect, more aggressive in movement and style.

Landing even softer than Bo-Hi, this one perched himself like a gargoyle on top of one of their troop-carriers, the bandana flying in the wind, for the troopers to watch in fear. This one was shorter than Master Bo-Hi, but the image of another one just like him induced more fear in their hearts. The gargoyle's face was horrific to watch, barred teeth and cold relentless eyes.

Slowly he rose, even slower than Master Bo-Hi had, and more leaner. The man cracked his neck loudly to loosen the muscles there.

The lead trooper had forgotten all about Master Bo-Hi by now, as all the other troopers had. The stormtrooper tried to force his eyes to ignore the second arrival which had defied all the knowledge he had of gravity and common science. The lead stormtrooper turned back to Master Bo-Hi.

Slowly his ears picked up on the hissing sound -

Six troopers already laid dead at Master Bo-Hi's feet. The vision of the six troopers, severed joints and bloodied armor, lying around Master Bo-Hi's feet joined the hum of the green lightsaber in a vision of their worst fear.

"What the - "

Master Bo-Hi circled the green blade in his hands as he pivoted on his heel, cutting the lead trooper down half way through the move. The trooper's armor fell apart, and the remaining thirteen soldiers quickly improved their reflexes, their self-preservation instincts enhancing immediately.

They all raised their blasters at Master Bo-Hi, but Bo-Hi's free hand opened and the thirteen troopers were pushed back with the invisible wind of the Force -

Into the fire-like blade of Kjoil Knight Skar Kjoil, the second perfect being, who made quick work of three troopers, whom he cut down as they flew past him. The other ten troopers got to their feet again and started blasting their weapons.

Feeling surrounded, Skar bent down in his knees and jumped straight up, dodging four blasts. He balanced his flight with the aid of the Force, which gently pushed his jump ninety degrees in the other direction.

Master Bo-Hi jumped into their masses, swinging left and right. The confusion made Master Bo-Hi's and Skar's work much easier. The troopers had lost all combat-orientation, and the Jedi made sure they never regained it. The troopers shot random shots at Master Bo-Hi and Skar, but their speed made it impossible for the shoots to even come close.

More troopers came pouring out from inside the transport, instantly firing and joining the fray. The troopers were almost on top of Master Bo-Hi. He moved quickly to dispatch as many troopers as he could, but even he could not hold off some twenty of them at a time. Skar leaped to help Master Bo-Hi, and took down one of them from behind.

His blade was still pierced inside the trooper's back when he moved the blade left, cutting through the side of the trooper before entering a second.

By that time Master Bo-Hi had already taken care of a third trooper, circling the blade above his head, warding off shots, as he struck down, severing the trooper by the shoulder.

Skar came full circle, gutting two troopers as he went, ending the circle settling down to one knee as Master Bo-Hi came somersaulting over his back, cutting down the trooper who intended to ambush Skar. The two Jedi ducked in and out of their midst, ending lives at whim and chance. Skar used all his powers to make even the luckiest shot seem hopeless. His moves were graceful and beautiful as he switched between his stances.

Master Bo-Hi looked up to take a quick count, the troopers were down to only four now. Skar came close to him and their fire and green-colored blades hummed in sync. Their minds congratulated each other mentally, not letting their guard down in front of the four troopers. Master Bo-Hi circled his lightsaber in front of himself and ended the move in his favorite defense-stance.

Skar and Master Bo-Hi brushed their backs together, their blades humming side by side. Master Bo-Hi lifted his chin. "You take the one on the left, I'll take the other three."

Skar's smile sent a wave of reasurement through Master Bo-Hi. "You jest."

Skar jumped over Master Bo-Hi, and went flying for the troopers on the left. Master Bo-Hi jumped right, their tactic forced the troopers to split up, making them easier to take out. The troopers blasted away, but Skar's fire blade let none of them come even close. Master Bo-Hi let his troopers do their work, deflecting their blasts for as long as he could. He was leading them on, forcing them away from Skar.

Skar was the first to take out a trooper. He came close enough to cut through one trooper's blaster and finished him off, placing the tip of his blade through his chestplate. The trooper dangled there for a morbid second, before he pulled the blade out and went for his second trooper. The trooper backed up, blasting away at him, but Skar's blade sent the shots flying to the sky.

In the other end of the battle, Master Bo-Hi had the troopers right where he wanted them. At point blank range he dodged their shots with perfect precision. In a split second, Master Bo-Hi moved in between them. Before any of them could react, he slammed the hilt of his lightsaber into the helmet of one trooper and kicked the feet away under the other. The trooper fell hard on his back while Master Bo-Hi circled to face the first trooper, still shocked by the blow to the helmet.

Master Bo-Hi's blade came up and the trooper came down.

Skar's last trooper kept backing away from him, as Skar deflected each of the trooper's shots. Suddenly Skar leapt straight up into the ashy sky and vanished from sight. The trooper watched as Skar disappeared into the dark sky and paid no mind to Master Bo-Hi at the other end of the battle.

Nearby Master Bo-Hi reversed the grip on his lightsaber, making the green blade point downwards, as he plunged the tip of it through the armor of the final trooper on the ground. Master Bo-Hi's face was calm as he rose, assessing the situation.

Only Skar's trooper remained.

Master Bo-Hi opened his palm and Skar's remaining trooper flew tumbling through the air, straight into Skar's fire blade as he came flying back down from the sky. The trooper flew on through the air, but in two pieces. His armor clattered as he banged against the hull of one of the troop-carriers.

It seemed they were all dead, but Skar could tell by Master's Bo-Hi's stance that things were not over. Out of the rear end of a troop-carrier came two speederbikes, speeding up as they raced for their lives. If they got away they might warn the Empire of the events and more troopers would arrive.

Rather than having to deal with more stormtroopers, the Jedi found it prudent to take care of the two speederbikes as fast as possible.

As the speederbikes passed by him, Skar tossed his blade into the air, guided it with precision through the Force, to execute an attack on one of them. One speederbike pilot looked up to see the fire blade coming down like a guillotine, decapitating him.

The second speederbike got away over the hills and Skar cursed before seeing Master Bo-Hi unleash the Force upon the speederbike that'd just lost its pilot. The speederbike lit up again and whined as it sped across the hills, piloted only by the Force. Master Bo-Hi clutched his hand into a fist and in compliance the speederbike increased its speed. Off in the distance Skar could feel the pilot looking back at the ghost speederbike following him. Rather than deal with it, the pilot turned his speederbike around and came flying back to the camp.

Skar readied his lightsaber as he saw the two speederbikes coming over the terrain, only one of them with a pilot.

Then Master Bo-Hi eased his speederbike up on the side of the other and began ramming it into its side. The pilot stayed on, but just barely.

Skar slowly realized the danger. The speederbikes were coming right for him, there was no way he could destroy them without taking himself out too. Instead Skar, as he realized Master Bo-Hi's intent, dropped to his knees and closed his mind from the events. He secluded himself in the Force and added power to the shield he'd previously been able to put over Master Bo-Hi and Shinran.

The bubble came up just as both speederbikes crashed into it, exploding no more than two feet from where he sat. The fire blazed over his head and he watched the small pieces of burning debris as it folded around the bubble, leaving him again as a spectator to the more intimate and unbelieving details about how an explosion looked like from the inside.

When the fire died down, Skar removed the bubble and he joined Master Bo-Hi. Seeing the carnage of the dead troopers sent shivers through his spine. Skar couldn't take his eyes off the dead bodies. Killing, no matter what, was never a good thing. There was no right part in murder. They'd done it in self-defense, but they had taken the lives of someone else.

The Force called for them to make others and themselves safe, but that didn't mean they had to approve the thought of killing another person.

While Skar did not see killing as one of his vices, he did notice the changes he had undergone over the last two years. Changes not on the outside but within. He no longer searched for the meaning of his being as a Jedi, the purpose he knew waited for him somewhere in the future. He _wanted _it, he craved it, he desired it. It wasn't his wanting that so much drove him, but more the resolution it would bring. He hoped it would shed some light on the events he had witnessed.

He longed for someone to tell him that the killing, the murder and the death, had a purpose, a meaning.

Master Bo-Hi stepped up beside him and they both shut off their blades. Skar rested his determined eyes on Master Bo-Hi. "A Jedi fights the war only to end it."

Master Bo-Hi nodded and they walked across the camp to the transport. "Justice exists. There is justice in our world, sometimes enforced through the Jedi's power. We are _that_ justice, Skar."

Behind them, Shinran came sliding down the hill. She took an impressed look around the bodies, not being a stranger to blood and violence, and muttered under her breath, "Right...remember his good sides, Shin. Remember his good sides."

They made it up the ramp and through the hatch, all around them bright corridors led deeper into the ship. The walls were all painted in a scarlet red, except the floor which polished and shiny surface was black as night.

Skar stepped off the ramp and took a look around the corridors. They were all empty but Skar knew and felt that someone was still on the ship, deep in fighting somewhere beyond. His right hand stayed near his lightsaber, keeping his guard up. Skar saw a lift and counted the floor options, 27 levels in all.

Master Bo-Hi nodded and pointed to a corridor. "That is your path, Skar." Then he turned and pointed at another. "We'll go this way."

Skar was about to argue the order, questioning the reason for splitting up at all, and why Shinran wasn't going with him. _This isn't the time. Not now. _Skar looked to Shinran and gave his bravest smile.

"Go with Master Bo-Hi. You'll be safe with him."

Shinran nodded, though Skar could feel she wasn't happy either with the split-up. Sharing one last warm tight caress and a kiss, they split up.

Seconds later Skar was on his own, following the bright corridor, relying on the Force to guide him. He could feel and hear combat nearby and stayed clear of those areas, his lightsaber never leaving his hand.

As he walked by a reflective surface he noticed the gray skin-tight stealth suit that he had been given by Kayupa for this mission, the black boots, the changes in his physical appearance as well. He looked, acted and dressed as a warrior. And like a warrior many obligations were weighing on him, Shinran, the Jentarana, Kayupa and Master Bo-Hi. All of them combined into one massive task that was his life. And he longed to solve them all, hoping to find happiness beyond them.

Right now all he wanted was to be with Shinran, to be alone with her. To find a quiet space in time where they could be alone. He knew he wanted to settle down with her, and just enjoy being with her. But it contradicted the life-style he'd chosen. As long as there was a Force, there was the need for him.

Skar remembered her scent, that intoxicating fragrance. The taste of her skin. The feeling of being right next to her, sleeping next to her. To lose himself in minutes at a time just staring at her as she walked around in the room. To feel his heart freeze when her fingers ran over him.

Ahead of him Skar spotted a pair of red doors and a bright corridor behind it. Yet again no one was there. The bright tunnel ended in a T section, left and right. Skar had no idea which road to take, and the Force allowed little hints to guide him. Skar walked through the red and black doors, only to hear them slam closed behind him. Skar rushed to the side of the bright corridor and unsheathed his lightsaber.

He was trapped.

_Fear is a killer. Stay focused._

He felt a quiver in the Force. Reacting fast, he brought the hissing fire-colored blade to life. A salve of laser blasts came flying past his head, and Skar identified two shadows in the hallway, both of them holding blasters.

By the looks of them they must've both been part of the Rancor League, clothed in red and black just like the ship with pieces of armor strapped over vulnerable spots. Their faces were blank as they blasted in his direction.

Skar lifted his lightsaber, horizontally, and deflected two shots, then rolled forward, closing the gap between him and his assailants, These weren't any of the Empire's goons for sure, for one thing they shot better than stormtroopers. Secondly their weapons weren't standard stormtrooper equipment.

They had to be Rancor League mercenaries.

Skar reached out to them, but found only a flicker of disarray in the minds of the attackers. It was close to what he felt when he tried connecting with a droid. _These men have no minds, just commands. _The emotion he'd felt from them was that of someone with low intelligence and little self-control. These men were unnatural in regards to their brainwaves and their thought-patterns. A bit crude and primitive but all the hallmarks of a sentient being was there.

_Cyborgs, technologically advanced killers._

The firing died out slowly, when their minds gathered that he could deflect each of their shots. Skar took pride in knowing that he _could_. Revealing one more in their party the three thin, almost identical men came from left and right down the corridor, nodded briefly to each other at the intersection, and then they began to move towards him, each of them holding a blaster ready. Skar powered his weapon down, the cyborgs presented no real danger. Skar wanted to give them a chance to reveal their intent before cutting them down.

Two of the men stayed behind while the third walked up to him. The man's face was pale and emotionless, he held out an open palm and said, "You would be wise to lower your weapon."

Skar tried to calm the rage inside himself, the hate in finding that these cyborgs were not meant to stop him, only delay him. They were a desperate act from someone who knew he was onboard, most likely the Rancor League.

Skar cursed in disgust and the fire blade roared to life and plucked the head of the nearest man as a prize. The cyborg's head bounced around on the floor before rolling to a halt by Skar's feet. The cyborg's carcass gushed sparks from its neck before tumbling to the floor. The two other men, cyborgs in kind, looked down confused at their dismantled counterpart.

Skar looked back up at the two others, a dark frenzy emitting from his eyes.

A second later they too joined their mechanical brother in a droid afterlife, as Skar walked on with clunking steps down the metal grating, ducking behind corners, checking every room, always keeping his guard up and dedicatedly moving closer to the Jentarana. Trying not to think of how easily it had become for him to take life, artificial or not.

Trying not to think that somewhere someone watched him, disapproving.

* * *

Kayupa damned his luck. _The main entrance to the hangar holding the Jentarana is sealed. And I can feel the last remaining mercenaries conspiring inside. They're going to bunk up with the Jentarana and see if they can hold the ship from there. Its a good plan against the Imperials. _

Kayupa smiled.

_But not against me._

He knew that the hangar holding the Jentarana was accessible in two places; the entrance he was standing by now that had been sealed shut, and another route which forced him to move through a storage bay further down the corridor. That way he could sneak up behind the mercenaries and perhaps even sneak his way to the Jentarana without them even spotting him.

Kayupa could also feel Skar moving around somewhere nearby. Kayupa felt guilt picking at his heart; he'd been the one to send the cyborgs after Skar, not the Rancor League. He'd found them in a workstation and programmed them to be where he knew Skar would turn up. It was essential for Kayupa's plan that Skar be kept at bay for a little while yet.

Master Bo-Hi would be confronted first. Once Kayupa had made him see the ills of his way, then Skar and Kayupa could escape with the Jentarana. If Master Bo-Hi was to join them, remained to be seen. Kayupa was Jedi, but even the future so close he couldn't see.

Kayupa moved on down the corridor. His cautious and almost mute steps undetectable to the human ears, only traceable by the deepest touch of the Force. Eager, Kayupa moved faster now, running down the corridor, his steps still mute and soundless. Up ahead he felt danger rushing to meet him, and he embraced it.

Two lonely mercenaries had set up a post outside the storage room, seemingly to stop anyone from breaking into the Jentarana bay from there. They weren't that stupid after all, it seemed.

But that didn't make them smart enough to evade the threat he presented to them. He blocked out his appearance with the Force and ran towards them. At least one of them held a comlink to radio in any danger coming from that vector. Kayupa embraced the Force and used it to defy gravity as he began running up the wall, running sideways down the corridor as he closed in on the mercenaries. Then he defied it even more, as he moved up and began running upside down across the ceiling.

He unleashed his lightsaber and fired up the blade. The two mercenaries never even saw him coming as he moved through them upside down, chopping off heads as he ran on and moved down the left side of the corridor, sliding down the wall, and running on down the corridor, his feet now back on the floor.

Kayupa shut down his lightsaber and reached the storage entrance, the bodies behind him only then falling to the floor. Kayupa broke through to the storage bay, not noticing the darkness inside his heart, spreading through veins, and inevitably conquering every light left in his heart.

* * *

One level up from the storage bay, Skar entered a ready-room for pilots. Chairs rowed up like spectator seats before a hologram-projector. Datapads were filed on a desk in the corner in high stacks. Skar sneaked across the seats heading for the door on the other side that would take him above the main hangar.

As he touched the pad, he felt the tingling of his danger sense. He stepped back from the door and reached out.

A booby-trap.

He touched the door. Memories unattainable to him, but taken from the fabric of time and Force of previous battles, flooded to him. Memories of fears and uncertain futures. Memories of rookies making their first flight into battle. Memories of unspoken prayers to gods Skar didn't know. Memories of adrenaline. Memories of dedication. Memories of sorrow. Memories of the pilots heading out to shoot down the _Witty_. Memories of coming back from that mission.

Memories of the booby-trap's internal wiring set by two mercenaries as they planned to trap those coming this way.

Skar scratched his chin. It was a simple detonator. A detonator was a compact and powerful explosive contained in a sphere. Once activated, an internal fusion reaction starts within the sphere which eventually grows into a deadly explosion. The weapon had a blast radius of five meters, commonly used as a grenade. It was activated by touch and would detonate ten seconds after.

This one had been rigged to blow up the second that touch was lost. The explosion would take out him and the entire room. Someone had welded a bar to the other side to the door, and then pinned the bar against the detonator. The mercenaries hiding on the other side down in the hangar must've taken a detonator from one of the dead stormtroopers.

Skar had encountered many bodies of dead stormtroopers, as well as mercenaries on his way here, results of the battle going on between the Empire's soldiers and the Rancor League's men.

Skar touched and held the activator switch on the detonator with the Force. Then he reached out with his hand and touched the pad beside the door. The door opened and right there on the wall in front of him was a floating little gray ball. The detonator.

"Don't move!"

The filtered voice that could only have come from a stormtrooper's helmet almost broke Skar's concentration. And Skar realized they couldn't see the detonator, he was standing in front of it. They hadn't seen the gray ball he was maintaining with the Force and didn't know the danger they'd just put themselves in. Skar heard the footsteps of two stormtroopers behind him.

"Turn around."

Skar shook his head. "I can't…"

He heard the rifle moving, sending off invisible waves through the air, to point at his head. "Turn around!"

Skar still concentrated on making the tiny detonator stay hovering in its place. It glided slowly from side to side. The stormtroopers behind him came closer, still aiming for the back of his head. They were almost in place -

"Turn around or I _will_ shoot you!"

Skar diverted a little of his concentration to the desk with the datapads on the other side of the room. Budging them slightly with the Force. It was hard to focus on two things at once, especially when his break of focus on the detonator could kill them all. The datapads moved inches at a time, going for the edge of the desk. Eventually the stack tipped over with a loud clatter and the datapads fell to the floor.

Both stormtroopers turned and blasted at the sound. Shooting innocent datapads to bits and pieces, while Skar jumped forward into the door way, punching the touchpad as he went through. The door closed behind him. Skar crouched down to meditate and embraced himself in the Force.

After the stormtroopers had executed the datapads and turned back towards where Skar should have been, they didn't advance on the door, due to the small gray ball hovering slowly towards them. Their hands trembled. And then the detonator dropped from the air, bouncing once off the floor as the invisible hand that had held the detonator in air, went away.

Skar focused on the Force as the door in front of him suddenly bulged under the superhot heat. He held it firm, even as fire washed out at the edges. Even as small bobbles of overheated metal started to form on its surface. The bubbles eventually popped and fire blazed out.

Skar locked his mind. The door had to hold. Focusing his mind was not that difficult but keeping it was. The thought of what would happen if he couldn't keep it, peaked through his control slowly. But the Force worked to down these fears. His focus was locked.

Skar didn't even open his eyes to see the door trembling and shaking in its place. Didn't want to see the spot of the metal going red from the onslaught of the flaming ball of fire on the other side, turning the door into nothing but hot slag. The roar died out and the trembling began to calm down.

Skar dared to open his eyes. Black scorch marks were all around the edges of the door. Several places the door had been melted and splats of liquid metal had cemented the door in its place.

Skar rose slowly and then felt the drain in his muscles. He had to support himself against the wall to remain standing, it had taken a lot out of him to do the telekinesis. And he felt tired. Could barely stand up.

Skar slouched up against the wall and tried to find strength. _Why did it drain me so much? Why was my control so fragile? I used to do stuff like this all the time on Nanh? _

Skar snarled.

_Kryuu. Master lied to me. Maybe that's why. _

Skar shook his head clear. He broke out the lightsaber and firmed it in his hands.

_The mission has to go on.

* * *

_

Kayupa stepped inside. Avoiding the sealed main entrance to the Jentarana's holding bay, Kayupa had picked the lock on the entrance to the storage bay. He knew that way he could access the holding bay from there through a ventilation shaft. Dim lightning and huge metal crates, as tall as himself, were stacked on top of each other, some of them stacked three or four times. It created the illusion that the storage bay was more of a maze. Kayupa wondered if someone had meant to trap him here, to confuse him, it seemed to be an obvious trap, but it was the only route he had left.

Though the storage facility was a longer way around, he suspected it to be less guarded. This route was longer, but safer.

Using the Force he found his way through the maze without any problems. He tried reaching out even deeper in the Force to scout for enemies or danger, but the Force failed him. It flickered on and off like a bad bulb. Kayupa had a feeling why. His mind was stuffed with the obsession of reaching his goal. But he still kept moving. If he couldn't have the Force on his side, he would have to do without.

His hand wavered close by his lightsaber as he made his way across the room. Still testing the Force for results, he got a light thumbing that felt like a heavy heartbeat.

_Trouble?_

Kayupa stopped and looked slowly up at where the danger seemed to be coming from. Somewhere on top of that third crate.

His heart pounded faster as he saw the danger. A black-clothed man with short dark hair and wearing what appeared to be knifes in sheaths attached to his belt. The man sat up there staring down at him, but there was something in his hands. A helmet from a stormtrooper.

And then as Kayupa watched, the man began eating out of the helmet, his face coming away with blood smeared around his lips.

Kayupa's heart almost leaped out of his chest.

In a blurred motion the man jumped from the crate and landed gracefully in front of the vent shaft, that Kayupa hadn't even seen yet, blocking his path. Kayupa took a step back, thrown off by this sudden appearance.

The man rose very slowly to his full height, uncurling his body and Kayupa noticed the tattoo on his forehead, the symbol of the Rancor League, the same mark as the ones on the ships outside. The man dropped the helmet on the floor, and what little that remained of the head inside it spilled out on the floor by his feet.

The man held his hands close to his blades, but Kayupa maintained his posture and noticed sharp teeth and two pointed fangs as the creature, in lack of a better description, opened his mouth to pronounce his challenge.

"I've been waiting for you."

Kayupa stepped back and let his hand fall to his lightsaber. "Who are you?"

The man pulled something from a pocket and held it out for Kayupa to see. It looked like a energy-clip. Like one of his. When the man spoke his voice was charged with excitement. "Neither equal, nor superior." Kayupa watched the man bow like a champion and then he held up the energy clip to his face and sniffed it. "I've followed your scent." The man threw away the clip. "I've been preparing for this moment for a long time."

Somehow Kayupa just knew, it could be no one else. "Raydoen Jayant."

Raydoen bowed, even that gesture a mock and a challenge. "And you are the Jedi. And you've come here for something."

Kayupa unclipped his lightsaber, its weight in his hand a reassurance. "Yeah…"

"Are you planning to steal it from me?"

"No, I'm returning it to its owner."

"Ah, but not before this is settled." The man smiled, a smile of deception and evil. Kayupa saw himself in the man's cold dead stare. "Pain is merely an illusion, our key to redemption. You are mine, and I am yours."

That sentence, it was the one he had deciphered while spying on Dragus back on Nar Shaddaa. This man had indeed waited for him, wanting to face him for whatever reason Kayupa could not guess at. Kayupa calmed his own thoughts, this was nothing new, he was used to combat. This man's obsessive thoughts about him wouldn't work to distract him.

And yet, something was moving beneath the surface of everything, something unrevealed. It shouldn't be, but this fight seemed to be different from the rest. Kayupa felt the hair on his arms rising, a chill floating through his heart, worry began to manifest itself in his head.

Could he fail, this close to completion?

Raydoen seemed to know his thoughts, the man's cold eyes confirmed it. Kayupa felt like he was standing on thin ice with a Rancor on his shoulders.

Something bad was about to happen.

"This battle has been anticipated the both of us. I want to fight you."

Kayupa faked surprise, followed by a sardonic smile. "Really? Well, let me just adjust to the shock." His acting was not all an act, something told him this wasn't going to be just another duel.

Raydoen shook his head, a slight tisk tisk sound coming from those pale lips. "We've both chosen to be here. Both chosen to reach this moment." The vampire unsheathed his blades, the moves blurred in a flash of gray, holding them up like a cross in front of his chest. "Dangi blades, shaped from cortosis ore. A matter I think you know," he chuckled subtly, "they can withstand even your lightsaber."

Kayupa looked down at his lightsaberhandle. Suddenly it didn't seem so effective. The blades Raydoen held, he couldn't slice through them. What was happening? Why now? Knowing he could not back out of this fight, Kayupa bowed as a champion would before his adversary, then his lightsaber flashed, the blue blade snapping to life.

Raydoen laughed, his face devious and filled with perverted pleasure. "You are the first who hasn't backed down from my challenge. But fret not; I _will _stir the fear in you."

"The only thing you stir in me is my lunch." Kayupa positioned himself in his defense-stance and circled his blade to provoke the man into attacking. "You're a Dfeeliuan, aren't you?"

The vampire's eyes brightened. "You know of my kind?"

"I thought they'd all been killed by the Empire."

The man nodded. "We're more alike than I thought. Both our kinds have been sought out by the Empire for extermination. We both abide to a higher power, our destinies at the mercy of something untouchable. Something higher, something neither of us can ever fully understand, yet we're willing to devote our lives to its wishes."

"I don't follow - "

"In the days of the first Age, we were all shaped of the same spirit, but with time we possessed our own forms. We're all trying to return to that order, to the same power. You and I are formed from the same matter, Jedi. But who of us will return to the one that bore us?" Raydoen smiled even more and licked his blades, tasting the material that might make or break this fight. "_Who _will receive his redemption?"

The blue blade was throbbing in his hands, adding to his tense emotions. "I've got your redemption right here!"

Raydoen snarled. "You are too eager. I had expected more from you. More commitment. But, no matter. You will learn soon enough."

"Learn what?"

Raydoen smirked. "I know your anatomy, Jedi. People consider killers and murders to be insane and vile creatures, but they've merely made a living, a survival, on knowing things about the anatomy of others, a knowledge that would match, if not exceed, the education of some of the greatest medical staffs in the Galaxy. But we use our knowledge for survival, not healing. Its benefits us on a higher level than money to know these things. A doctor can live off this knowledge, but we can _survive _off it. Knowing these things keeps _us _alive, while our victims fall."

Kayupa's mind was reeling with incomprehension. "Is there a point to all this?"

Raydoen nodded. "Information in our age can be quantified easily, broken down in little ones and zeros. But information changes shape, purpose, meaning, depending on who it is transferred to. Information is subjective, and its forces in the wrong hands can spell disaster one place, while it could benefit another. Information is free to anyone who desires it, but its reincarnations differ from soul to soul. You and I share many genes; save for a midiclorian count, we're nearly identical. But through the information difference in our cultures and upbringing, _you _have been trained to preserve life, while _I _have learned to take pleasure in killing."

Kayupa felt insulted. "You and I are nothing alike!"

Raydoen shifted his feet, bringing one blade stretched out behind him, and the other dangling before his face. "Fighting is the primordial soup of all we accomplish; its where we find ourselves and lose ourselves. I've embraced the killer within, the hellish fires of my own primal instincts; to kill to live only to kill again. I wonder how long it will take for you?" Raydoen ran his hand over his lips, as if tasting himself, tasting the perspiration on his hands, taking pleasure in the body's reaction to his excitement. "There's only one way to find out."

Kayupa reached out to the Force, but it still pulled back from his touch. Accepting its betrayal he lifted up his blade, feeling its warmth and gloom shroud him in its protection.

Kayupa couldn't tell who attacked first. It was all a great blur. And as the battle raged, Kayupa, in truth, found himself for the second time in his life pitted against an enemy who might stand a chance against him.

* * *

Skar touched the wall, feeling information and knowledge of the entire ship and the memories of those others who'd touched it, ever graced its interior, seeping through his palm, like an external memory-bank. The memories lingered there for a short period, enough for him to examine it and find that which was important and sort away that which was unimportant. He could feel the thoughts of the rioters in the Jentarana bay, some thirteen mercenaries, all of them cursing the day they signed up for this mission, all of them ready to trade off their payment to have their lives intact.

Skar found it humorous how many of them didn't seem to grasp what giant play in time they were participants in. This day would mean nothing to all those people outside Soliton, none of them knew that he was out here, trying to prevent them from ever being hurt or terrorized by someone manipulating the Jentarana. They would never know his name, but here he was. Standing on the front line doing his very best as a Jedi to serve those unknowing sentients.

Skar mentally stumbled over the stormtroopers who had set up posts around the entrance to the Jentarana bay, ready to storm it on command. The rest of the troopers had gathered outside the _Offeyyu _and were busy picking up the corpses of their dead comrades. Some troopers were carrying out the dead from inside the ship, Imperial and mercenaries, to pile them up outside. He knew that burning would be one of the ways that they would rid themselves of the bodies. Cremation.

A flowing impulse fed through his skin, updating him with new knowledge, and Skar knew immediately that reinforcements were on their way. Two more Imperial shuttles were coming down. And one of them was carrying someone important.

Probably the commander or the one who had issued the order to attack the Rancor League.

The fighting had calmed down inside the _Offeyyu_, the mercenaries locked up and trapped in the bay, and the stormtroopers awaiting the orders to kill off the rest. There had been no prisoners. The riot was at a stalemate. Everyone waited for the other to make the move.

Skar still found no trace of Kayupa anywhere on the ship. No sign of his presence anywhere. He had hidden himself perfectly, which annoyed Skar. Kayupa should have tried to reach out to him, to let him know where he was so they could regroup. After all, that was why Skar was here.

Why was Kayupa hiding from him?

Master Bo-Hi and Shinran were safe. He could feel them up in a vent shaft above the Jentarana bay, looking down upon the rioting mercenaries. That was one way of entering the bay when the time came. Another was through a storage bay behind the Jentarana bay. Skar had chosen not to go that way, and he had also signed off the sealed main entrance to the Jentarana bay, because that post was now heavily guarded by swarming stormtroopers.

Instead he had chosen to be original. Skar ran a sweaty hand over his face and dried the moisture off on his stealth suit by the hip. He hadn't used his, Kayupa's, silenced blaster yet. He had only used the lightsaber on the outside to take out the guards, the numerous cyborgs he'd encountered not added in the count. Everything had been done with the aid of the Force. He was proud of getting this far without too much incident. Which had gotten him to this work station, just below the Jentarana bay.

Skar looked up at the ceiling and knew from telekinesis that the ceiling wasn't thick enough to withstand his lightsaber. He also knew that directly above him in the bay, were a stack of crates. He could cut a hole and come up right among them, unnoticed by the mercenaries. With the aid of the Force he could block out the noise and sight if anyone should notice, and come up clean.

From there he could group up with Master Bo-Hi and Shinran from above, and take the bay with a little luck.

Be the enemy mercenaries or stormtroopers, the Jentarana didn't belong with them. It didn't belong with any of them. Not even Master Bo-Hi, whatever he might think. All they had to do was secure the Jentarana and find out a way to immobilize it. He didn't even want to think about the Star Destroyer in space above them, and the threat it posed to them.

The mission was to take out the Jentarana, whatever the cost might be.

Skar looked over his lightsaber, the symbols of his heritage were suddenly very clear to him. The heritage enabled him to be a symbol of good in the Galaxy. And it told him that his life mattered little in the face of the dangers he might face. He would go as far as he could, do as much as was in his power.

He was Kjoil, he had responsibility.

Shinran appeared before his mind's eye. She was his responsibility too, and as much as he knew the bond he had to the Force and the love he had to show it, he knew that Shinran was not something or someone he was willing to lose in the favor of the Force. Shinran had to survive. He loved her too much to sign her off as unimportant compared to his duty.

Skar lit the fire blade and started working on the ceiling, using the Force to block out the sounds and the sparks flying from the floor above.

* * *

_Black and white is one way of seeing the world_, Master Bo-Hi thought to himself as he watched Shinran by the vent opening, looking down on the mercenaries huddled up down there. _But then there is also red and yellow, blue and green, and more. As many colors as there are directions in life. Forward, backwards, up, down, left, right, below, above, beyond, transcending every path with another. Drawing the very lines of our lives with the steps we take with or without reason. Watch our lives bend under the choices we make and those we abandon._

Master Bo-Hi found himself feeling sorry for Shinran. He knew that having established a relationship with Skar romantically had helped her. And Skar, being so naive that he was, thought it would be enough. He didn't suspect that the trauma would return. She might feel alright now, focused, but later the feeling of inadequacy and loss-of-self would resurface, and she would be no better.

_She needs to embrace that which flows to her in life, the random, whatever may come. That was all really one could do to enjoy life. Accept nothing, flow between it. To be bewildered._

At least for humans.

She turned and looked at him in a way that made him think she could hear his thoughts, and in those before nervous and fleeting eyes was now a core of hot confidence. "You don't have to pity me."

Bo-Hi wasn't too surprised she'd known his thoughts. During his time and sessions with her, she'd shown a knack for understanding more than one would believe at first. Shinran definitely had potential. Just not as a Jedi. "I pity only those who can't be helped."

"Don't start with the moral speech, okay? We're through that!" She looked away and that glimpse of an unused confidence withered. "Save it for the ones you can help."

"I want to be able to help you. To understand what you're going through, and why Skar hasn't seen the sadness that still lies in you. I know his love has helped you through much, but he fails to see the neglect in you now." He drew in a big breath. "It hurts you that he came here."

She snarled. "Skar thinks he's solved all my problems, thinks he's worked some kind of magic on me." Tears began to form in her eyes. "He thinks he can solve anything."

Master Bo-Hi moved down the vent and sat closer to her, held her head to his chest as she wept. Her head trembled beneath his hands, and it was all he could do to stop crying himself. "I've never met a more troubled soul than you. Please…let me understand."

She pushed him back. "You're no different than Skar!" She ran her wrist over her eyes to dry the tears. Her eyes burned with inner loathing and despair.

Master Bo-Hi nodded, trying not to appear agitated by his own faulty ability to help, hoping to lure her thoughts away from this melancholy. "I've seen you fall many times, and I've always seen you get back up. This strength you have to kick it back is perhaps your tool to your happiness. Don't hide from the pain, learn something from it."

"You're hiding too!"

Master Bo-Hi found that response quizzical. "What?"

She seemed to pick herself up as she went on. "I _do_ love Skar, I just fear the part of him that thinks he can repair anything. I'm another quest for him. Something to be solved. I'd give everything I own just to have him love me for what I am. I'd give him everything if it could at least be ours alone." She looked at Bo-Hi. "When he looks at me, I can see him trying to work things out, instead of just being with me. He doesn't have to help me, he just has to be there."

Master Bo-Hi understood. "And you think him coming here, is him walking away from you?"

She scoffed. "He came here for Kayupa."

"And you think that's wrong?"

"No, but its another part of him that thinks he can do anything. I love him for it, but its too much. It will get him hurt." She sobbed. "I don't want him to - " She stopped talking.

"Bleeding is believing, Shinran," Bo-Hi comforted, "he has faith in something he can't explain to you, that's why he's here."

She shook her head. "If you knew him the way I do…you would know that's not why he's here."

Master Bo-Hi leaned forward. "Why is he here, then?"

"You don't know the size of his heart."

"Tell me."

She looked at him. In her eyes Master Bo-Hi saw contempt.

"He's here to stop _you_."

The shock hit him harder than any physical punch and Master Bo-Hi felt his insides writhing in acid. His heart flamed and only confusion and discomfort kept him from flying through his own flesh.

"What?"

"Skar knows, just like Kayupa, that you want the Jentarana so that you can bring back the glory of the Jedi. You want to use it as a weapon of justice. But there is no such thing as a _weapon _of justice! You can't make up for all the innocent dead by killing others."

Master Bo-Hi shook his head slowly. "You're wrong. That's not why I'm here at all."

"You're hiding from the truth inside you. You're afraid of what you might find if you ever listened to your own heart!"

Master Bo-Hi felt attacked. "Is that…what Skar thinks?"

"Its what he believes. Its his truth!" She raised her voice so much, that Master Bo-Hi feared the mercenaries below might hear her. "When he came here to help Kayupa he came with a separate mission to stop you from taking the Jentarana. He and Kayupa orchestrated it all. They're so worried about you. None of them want to lose you to the Dark Side. That's why they want to destroy it. To save you."

Master Bo-Hi leaned forward to look down the vent and saw the mercenaries still in place, their presence still beaming with anxiety. He found himself wishing to be amongst them, fighting alongside. At least there he would know his enemies. He couldn't believe that Skar had been conspiring against him. And for some heartbreaking reason he didn't find it hard to believe that Kayupa could do it.

Skar was a better apprentice. He had learned the right ways. His recklessness was one that he had inherited from his family. It couldn't hurt him the way Kayupa's could. Kayupa had always been self-righteous, but that was another story.

Another secret.

Master Bo-Hi looked over at Shinran, the light from below gleaming in stripes over his face. "Listen to me, Shinran." He straightened as much as was possible in the small vent. "I have never, _never_, wanted the Jentarana for that purpose. I am a Jedi, I could never devise such a plan without dooming myself. I know too well the dangers of the Dark Side. You've been wrong about me, and so has Skar. But don't worry, I will set things straight." He looked down into the vent again, seeing the mercenaries moving around franticly. Something was going on. "I only hope its not too late."

Master Bo-Hi saw a mercenary jump forward, blasting away at a target he couldn't see. More followed until the entire squad of hired gunmen were firing blasters. The mercenaries yelled commands to each other. Panic ensued. Wounded mercenaries screamed before falling to the floor. Shots come flying back the other way too, and Master Bo-Hi heard filtered voices.

_Stormtroopers.

* * *

_

The ramp lowered and Admiral Stamper came strolling down as fast as his pudgy body would allow. When his boots hit ground all the troopers raised their hands and saluted him. Some of them even filed up for his inspection, but he didn't care for it. In the air he could smell the horrible odor of burning flesh. The cremation of the dead. He didn't even look in the smell's direction.

Admiral Stamper walked on up the ramp inside the _Offeyyu_. Somewhere above him General Koan was overseeing the operation from the _Atrophos' _bridge. Hopefully he would carry the weight of command as well as one should expect from a General trained at Carida. General Koan was reliable but he tended to think his ideas were better. Or that they even mattered. He would learn to obey or Admiral Stamper would personally boot him off the ship.

Behind Admiral Stamper a new legion of stormtroopers followed. This tiny rebellious band of mercenaries that had set up base inside the _Offeyyu _would soon by at an end. And the Jentarana would be his.

And the glory.

* * *

They were each formidable swordsmen in their own ground. Kayupa had trained his skills to perfection with Master Bo-Hi. From Master Bo-Hi he had learned everything from attacking, deflecting and even several maneuvers to make quick kills if so were needed. He had learned over hundreds of different fighting styles. Everything from fighting with weapons such as his beloved lightsaber and knives and daggers, as well as fighting barehanded.

But now he was up against someone with a fighting style he didn't know. Someone equally as good as Kayupa but in another realm of fighting. The short sharp dangi blades moved fast within the devil's reach, always swirling and cutting in air, and Kayupa had a hard time keeping up. He couldn't guess or find any rhythm in their moves that he could break down to find a weakness.

The vampire had two blades; Kayupa could easily deflect one, but the second always caught him off guard. It was the most grueling battle he had ever been in. His face was drenched in sweat as he fought.

The vampire's smile only mocking his worry.

Raydoen Jayant jumped at him, his face filled with evil, and Kayupa started backing off. When the dangi blades and the fluorescent lightsaber met it sent sparks over the combatants, showering them in flashes. Kayupa's blade merely tapped against the dangi blades but made no damage to their compound. His feet were always moving, always jumping, and it seemed whenever he thought he had an advantage he was only going where Raydoen wanted him to go. There were moves within moves.

Traps within traps.

Kayupa began feeling weary from this prolonged match of the inevitable. His legs pounding with pain, and his head washed in confusion, he tried lunging for the man's head with a long strike, but the devil's tattooed face moved too quickly.

Instead Kayupa's blade cut through stacks of crates causing them to landslide down upon them both. Kayupa found enough strength in the Force to ward off the falling debris, but it did him no good when he tried to sense Raydoen's pattern. Before he had the ability to read his antagonist's mind and then plan to find a weakness there, but his enemy moved too fast, too fluidly for Kayupa to keep up.

And the Force was betraying him.

But in its usual place breathed a new energy, one he had been trained to avoid, one he had been trained to be cautious of, one he had been trained to abandon whenever faced. And in this new energy came waves of words from people he had known, and yet not known.

_Anger, fear, aggression, the Dark Side are they_, Master Yoda had once said.

The sentence lingered in his head while he struggled to find its origin or discover how he could remember the sentence in the first place. Or how he even knew Master Yoda. He had heard of him from Skar's Holocron but he had never known the Jedi the way he felt familiar in his head now.

_Beware of the Dark Side. _

Again the words teased him with unsolved enigmas that he couldn't focus energy on now to find the truth beyond.

Kayupa felt the strain in his arms and the lightsaber began to feel like lead his hands. The bandana's trails was running down his face, brushing against the pearls of sweat on his cheeks and nose. His feet were dragging and there was no escape that this might turn out to be his final match. Raydoen seemed to toy with him like a child.

He had to run sometimes to catch up with the sick vampire creature. The feline-like quality that the man moved with was impressive to view. The man never stayed in one place for too long, and Kayupa began to suspect he was trying to wear him down so he would easier to kill.

Kayupa felt the rage inside him, corrupting him. He skidded to a halt and Raydoen watched him with unmistakable confusion from far away. Kayupa powered down his lightsaber, in itself a tremendous effort of strength and one he was not used to in the middle of a fight. Seeing Raydoen's mocking smile from across the room, Kayupa snapped his head back in anger, screamed at the ceiling, trying to free the tormenting clouds building up inside him. He screamed again, a giant cry for a liberation that wouldn't come in this lifetime.

Raydoen squatted down and seemed to be curious about Kayupa's outcry. Maybe even scared.

Kayupa pointed his lightsaber's hilt at the vampire man. "Are you gonna keep running all day?"

Raydoen sheathed his blades, so fast Kayupa barely caught it. The vampire stared at him, his teeth barred and his breath not even shallow. "You question my honor?" Then he snarled like a wolf and his tattoo lit up with fire. "Next you're gonna ask me if my blades are tainted with poison!" Raydoen clenched his fists. "You _dare _insult me!"

Kayupa had never felt this tired, and though he figured Raydoen was telling the truth, he wanted to call him a liar. His chest ached. He placed his hands on his kneecaps and tried to keep from falling over.

A fatigue like no other was coming over him, he felt sleepy, his entire body screamed for rest. "Why should I fear you at all, Raydoen?"

Raydoen moved closer with small steps, but Kayupa watched each of them, watched as his assailant came closer, perhaps to kill him in a flash while he was weakened. "The Dfieeluains are known for their honor in combat. We don't cheat, we don't trick and we fight fair."

"I weep for the species." Kayupa looked up at him, and again felt the urge to call him a liar, while feeling his skin grow warm. "But…there is no shame in fighting for what you believe in." As the words left his mouth he had no idea where they had come from. Or why.

Raydoen stared at him as confused as Kayupa himself. "Do you yield?"

Kayupa shrugged and waved the remark off with his hand. Finding strength in an unforeseen power source he lifted himself to his full height. His fingers cradled around the lightsaber as he tapped the activation switch.

The lightsaber bloomed in his hands. Kayupa could barely keep himself standing. "Come on, Raydoen, kill me. Isn't that why you're here?"

Raydoen unsheathed his blades and cracked his neck. "Your death is only a small part. And soon it will be even smaller."

Kayupa nodded and positioned himself in his defense stance. "Enough foreplay." Kayupa dragged his weakened body across the floor, lightsaber in one hand, and another against his belly to try and stop the hurt that had compounded there.

Raydoen backed, blades dancing in his pale hands. keeping distance between them which confused Kayupa. The man had claimed he wouldn't mind dying under Kayupa's blade, it was some weird part of his religion to do so, and still he kept the game going. There was truth in the freedom of death in all religions, Kayupa guessed, and this one was no different. Yet Raydoen kept postponing his freedom to the extreme.

Kayupa swirled his blade in hand, and tried to straighten. "You're getting a real kick out of this, aren't you?" he mustered. "To see your enemy in pain."

Raydoen smiled, his fangs clear and his tattoo brightening, not a hint of perspiration on his face. "You are different, Jedi. I'm learning. You don't look away from the pain, you do not distance yourself from it. Instead you use it as fuel to keep on going, to meet this battle full-heartily. I admire that. We Dfeeliuans neglect the pain. It weakens the mind, it opens the door to defeat."

Kayupa coughed. "You should have been a monk."

Raydoen bathed in his own self-confidence and ideology. "I am on the edge of living and dying. Just like you. Don't you feel the … _embracing _fact that you are alive?"

Kayupa wiped his long hair back along with the bandana trails. "What are you talking about?"

Raydoen chuckled, his chest rising with each horrid sound. "Warriors such as us only feel truly alive when we stare Death in the face."

Fed up, Kayupa lifted up his lightsaber and held the pommel with both hands. There was nothing he wanted more than to finish this crock right then and there. But…the words coming out of the vampire's mouth were not only familiar.

They were also right.

_I used to feel that way too. I put myself in mortal danger, engaged in dangers so that I could feel that I was truly alive, and that my actions had some meaning other than just being random acts in a giant lottery. I was testing myself to see my worth, to see if it mattered that I lived or not. _

_When I confronted Master Bo-Hi about my resignation it wasn't about the Jentarana really. It was about me feeling lost. And in that self indulgence I gave up the first part of me. And then, now, here, I realize in truth how much I have forsaken, how much was taken from me. _

_I am not who I think I am, who anyone thinks I am. As full and bright as I am, this light is not my own. The Jentarana is coming down. And with me alongside it. _

Kayupa twisted his face at the thought.

_Give me the strength to become who I want to be._

_And forgive me for who I am._

Seeing no other option, he channeled himself through the Force in a way he'd never done before. But in a way he knew would come for him sooner or later. Embracing the finality inside, Kayupa placed himself in the grip of the Dark Side as he raised off the floor.

His body was vertical, his hands stretched out. His long dark hair flowed behind like a veil. Lightning snapped around him, and the air picked up. Wind coursed around him, as the Dark Side granted him its unlimited powerful sources.

For long in the days of the Republic the Jedi had been the guardians of peace and justice until the reign of Palpatine. He killed off the Jedi and kept only a few Force-sensitive sentients alive. Himself and the Sith Lord Vader.

Since only few remained with the power in their grasp, those few were superior. Sith were born from the primitive and aggressive emotions that plagued anyone, but were lethal and final for a Jedi. The Sith were free in ways that Jedi could never imagine, their power selfish and cold. They used their power as they wished so their own despair would be released and their dark desires would be granted.

In the other end of the hangar, Raydoen fought to free himself of the blizzard pulling him inevitably towards the Jedi warrior. Raydoen's eyes widened, as the Jedi looked at him from inside the inferno, his face alight with ungodly fire, a thunderous laughter pounding through the room.

Raydoen used to think of himself as powerful, but when he saw the Jedi's closed eyes and the grim smile on his lips, he realized his conception of power, was very outdated.

Inside the center of the tornado Kayupa felt the power of darkness strengthening his rage and fear. He convulsed as its power ran down his spine and sent waves of light through his body.

_There is no weakness, there is the Dark Side._

Kayupa's hands strained as he tightened them into fists. He felt his own nails digging into his palms, delving deep into his skin, punctuating his palm, and drawing blood. The air swirled around him, charging, letting off lightning as it went. Feeling the Dark Side rejuvenate him Kayupa felt his body rising even more with the current and he held out his arms.

Raydoen started shaking his head slowly, not believing what he was seeing. The Jedi lifted himself higher than before, hanging in the ceiling of the hangar, lightning and wind flying all around him. It was as if the Jedi himself had become a god. That laughter still stuck in Raydoen's ears, that deep dark and gritty laughter of evil.

Kayupa forced his eyes away from the confused and, perhaps, frightened Raydoen and looked at his hand, seeing his own blood flowing down his wrist.

It was time.

Kayupa gave Raydoen a stare of hatred, and held out his bleeding hand to point at the now terrified Raydoen. "The next blood I see," his teeth clenched and his eyes turned white, "will be _yours_!"

* * *

Skar Kjoil sneaked himself onto the Jentarana bay of the ship. Boxes were stacked against the wall in the far end where he came in and he immediately dashed for cover behind one, when he observed what the hangar was holding now. The change he hadn't felt while embedded in the Force.

Hundreds of white armored stormtroopers.

Lined up like domino pieces in long lines. It almost hurt his eyes to look at the brightness of the shiny uniforms of the Imperial troopers. The military soldiers were unswervingly loyal to the Emperor, and represented the extension of Imperial might. Stormtroopers abandoned individuality in exchange for their loyalty. Skar thanked his luck that he'd chosen the only way to get in without them noticing him. They all had their backs to him.

It seemed like they were waiting for something.

Just then Skar remembered the tinniest fact about where he was. And his eyes, by their own will, looked to the ceiling to find the one occupant of the bay that deserved no introduction.

The Jentarana.

It was perplexing for him to see it at last. The holo-images didn't do it justice. The sheer size of it was overwhelming, daunting. The blue and gray armor plating was slightly illuminated by two projectors sitting on the floor on each side of the stormtroopers. Skar didn't realize until then how big the hangar bay in itself was. Spanning a good 200 meters and the Jentarana took up over half that length. It hung over the stormtroopers like a god preaching to its followers. Skar almost smiled as he realized he might qualify to be a follower.

_My uncle was…_

Skar couldn't decide whether genius or lunatic was the correct word. Skar said a silent prayer to himself.

_Maybe he was both._

Skar studied the Jentarana to find the entry he'd seen in the holos. It should be on the side of the belly, right between the hip and arm. And there he found it, on the right side of the belly. He could even spot the access panel which required a code he didn't know. Safe in the knowledge that Master Bo-Hi and Kayupa knew, he continued his studying. When comparing the size of it to the ships he knew, he figured it must have been two times the length of the _Koniduz_, and the _Witty _would be dwarfed in its shadow.

Skar saw the bulging arms on his uncle's masterpiece, those huge hands, metal platted to the tips of those gigantic fingers. He could stand inside the hand with no difficulty. Skar took notice of the clamps that held the Jentarana to the ceiling. They looked operational.

Then he spotted a gangway running from a lift in the upper levels. If the Jentarana could be lowered with the clamps, the gangway would lead right into the hatch on the side of the Jentarana.

Skar reached inside the warm grasp of the Force for guidance. Seeing the Jentarana again he noticed irregularities.

_The tail is different_. The tail was pieced together with a dozen servomotors, platted also in armor. He knew when in action the tail used super fast vibrations so that it could cleave through even spaceship hulls. But the tip of the tail looked too bulky compared to how it had looked in the images. A bow laced with small drives was crafted to its tip like an anchor.

_Sublight drives! This thing's spaceworthy!_

With the drives the ship could move between the stars and go anywhere, even further if it was equipped with a hyperdrive. Skar cursed the Rancor League for doing this, they were furthering a mistake that should have been stopped long ago. Skar felt sour disgust collecting in his throat at the sight of the blue and gray metal creature.

If he could just get inside...His uncle had told him he would know the key to the Jentarana when he was there. Trusting those words he knew he would have to penetrate. Skar reached out to Master Bo-Hi but to his distress there was no contact. He could feel them both up there but Master Bo-Hi didn't respond to his mind touch. Shinran was worried, he could feel her familiar edgy emotion.

_Don't worry, Shinran. We'll be together soon._

Skar glanced down from the ceiling and saw someone else coming into the plot. An Imperial. Skar couldn't see the rank on the uniform from the yards away as the large bulbous man walked through the stormtrooper ranks and mounted a podium in front of the troopers. This must have been the commander he sensed coming down with the reinforcements.

He activated a microphone on the podium as he addressed his men. His nervous voice boomed over the bay.

"You all know the sad news of the Emperor's death. His loss has scarred our pride and our strength. Its no secret that his death will affect the Empire's efforts in the future, but the Emperor was but _one _man. _We_ were his strength. We were the ones who gave blood, gave faith, in belief that his vision was right. I believed in him. I followed the path he had chosen for our Galaxy. I gave blood, I've slain enemies by his orders. I've left men to die on his orders. And now my, _our_, great leader is dead."

The officer looked down at his feet. "But the Empire is far from dead! The Rebels seem to think they have defeated us, but they have no idea what they have in store. Its an undeniable fact that the Rebels have crippled us by taking away the Death Stars. But today," he lifted a finger into the air, "I will show you the future of the Empire. Of the New Empire."

Skar could feel the growing tension and eagerness to obey and impress flowing among the troopers like a bad scent. Testosterone bouncing off the walls.

The officer raised his voice. "We are the burden-keepers, we hold the destiny of the Empire in our hands as well as in our hearts. And we must confront the Rebels before they mass together more strength. We must meet the Rebels at their own ground and thwart their idiotic crusade. We must rid our homes of their lies and their corruption. We must stand together and stand strong."

Skar sensed heightened moods among the troopers. They bought his words and swallowed them easily.

"The Empire will enter a new era and its future relies on our faith and our loyalty. I wish us all luck and strength so that the Emperor can rest in his grave, knowing that we will carry on his flame from here. That we will not forget his sacrifice."

The officer saluted his men, and Skar heard the loud echo of clattering armor coming through the hangar like a wave, as the hundreds of troopers snapped to attention and returned his salute.

"He died for you all, and for the glory of the Empire." The officer raised his fist and shouted. "For the glory of the Empire!"

Skar dumped down behind the crate.

_By the Force! These boys are totally insane. _Skar peeked back behind the crate at the troopers. _But there sure are a lot of them…_

One thing he'd learned during his training was that everyone had a different perspective on life. Someone's god is another one's joke. Someone's belief is another one's wasted time. Everyone finds different ways of finding strength to make hard decisions and help them through life. How could he disrespect that? He chose to be a Jedi to find his own way. Did the Empire deserve ridicule because their faith was different from his?

Skar checked his blaster, determined to fight for what he believed in.

_Their faith brings no new hope, only devastation. That is why I'm here. To prevent tyranny._

The officer then placed both his hands on the podium and pulled out a small pad. "Now for the unveiling of our greatest weapon, and the tool that will rid the Galaxy of the very memory of the Rebels. I knew the Emperor by his name, I knew him back when he was just a senator and I know the ideals behind his vision. He was the perfect leader, strategic, shrewd, wise of the world, and dedicated."

Skar saw the officer touch the pad and heard the huge automatics of the clamps holding the Jentarana move, as the Jentarana was being lowered to the gangway.

_Its moving!_

"I promise you victory and I promise you glory. It doesn't take an Emperor to make an Empire. This is not the end, this is the beginning!"

A whale cry sounded from the grinding motors as the Jentarana moved and hung over all the stormtroopers like a blanket of shadows. The soldiers all retreated to the sides of the hangar and sought safety from below their newest weapon of terror.

Skar reached down for his silenced blaster as some of the troopers came a little too close to his hiding place. He moved back and found a better hiding place behind a higher crate. Skar secluded himself from the scene and reached out to the Force. This time getting a respond.

_Master, they're loading the Jentarana._

_I know. I'm watching from above._

Skar looked at the gangway in the ceiling. When the Jentarana was fully loaded the gangway would lead straight to the Jentarana's main access. Skar couldn't see Master Bo-Hi, but he knew he was up there. In the vent shaft above the gangway.

_We must take the Jentarana as soon as its loaded, Master._

_With a little luck._

Skar smiled. _Who needs luck when you've got the Force? But what if someone is heading for the gangway to supervise the Jentarana when its loaded?_

_We'll be safe. I've locked down all the doors that lead up here. It'll take them a few minutes to unlock them, but that'll be enough time for us to do what we need to do._

_Right_, Skar agreed. _I'll be with you shortly._

With all the stormtroopers neatly positioned on each side of the bay, Skar began to wonder if he had chosen the right place to enter the bay. He needed to get onto the gangway in the ceiling if he was to get to the Jentarana.

He spotted Master Bo-Hi Dzog and Shinran jumping silently onto the gangway from the vent shaft. Their move went unseen by all the stormtroopers, and Skar congratulated Master Bo-Hi mentally on a successful infiltration. Shinran went into the shadows of the gangway and the Jentarana for cover while Master Bo-Hi shrouded himself enough that he could keep an eye out.

By now Skar was not only worried but dead scared as to why no one had seen or heard from Kayupa yet. It was mysterious, bordering on impossible. Skar, by himself, had scoured through most of the ship, and Master Bo-Hi, with Shinran, had also covered a great deal of the grounds. Skar was worried about him now, and was beginning to wonder if Kayupa was even onboard. Right now Skar didn't know who to trust, and in his head he heard his uncle's warning;

_He will stand in your way and confront you. This someone has been lying to you, has played you like a fool. This someone who has driven you to this moment._

At the time he had thought and believed the warning to fall on Master Bo-Hi. The great, wise and powerful Kel Dor Jedi Master supposedly a ticking bomb. But now Kayupa was worrying him, along with the allegations that Shinran had planted on him.

_Maybe his goals aren't what you think. You have to suspect that he's using you for something. _

At least Skar felt the comfort in knowing Shinran was not an option for an enemy. And as Skar began sliding out from the crates, he suspected there were still secrets to uncover, still lies to confront, and still terrors to face.

_If I'm gonna get out of here, I need a diversion. These troopers will spot me if I move out from behind these crates. _

Skar kept his steps light as he moved closer around the edge of the crates, trying to find a vent shaft or a hatch, even a door, a ladder, something that would take him out of there.

Skar tapped into his Force. _Master, we're short on time. I can't get out of here!_

His Master replied in a wave of reassurance. _I'll create a diversion. You'll have to use it to get up here. Don't bother with being spotted. I'll buy you enough time._

Skar prepared himself, and flexed his muscles. He would have to jump up there using the Force as a boost. The effort in itself was dangerous, possibly impossible. But if he focused enough the Force would lift him all the way up there.

But only if he focused enough.

_Now!_

Skar ran, his footsteps tapping the metallic floor, straight into the bay. Immediately he was the attention of every stormtrooper in the bay. His heart pounded but not from the running. From absolute fear. It only now came clear to him that what he was doing required that his faith in Master Bo-Hi would come through.

And if it didn't…

_He'll never get a better chance to set me up._

Skar felt through the Force the confusion in the stormtroopers, and could sense ripples in the air as each of them moved. Felt their arms lifting their blasters to aim at him, felt their trigger-fingers getting itchy. Felt the hairs rising on their arms as they detected foul play. Felt their blood rushing at the thought of killing him.

_Where is the diversion? _

The fear hitting him came on a wave of anger directed towards Master Bo-Hi, had he finally found his proof?

Skar began to run faster. He kept himself linked to the Force and was wary of even the slightest moves within the bay. He could feel very stormtrooper separately, and feel how they functioned as a group, as an army. The first shot came wheezing past his ear and he rolled to evade it.

Another shot required a jump and a flip to dodge the third. Skar came down running again. His hand freed the lightsaber from the belt and he blazed up the blade. In a second he sensed all of the stormtroopers in shock. All in awe at witnessing a Jedi Knight. The very kind they had once helped vaporize from the Galaxy.

Skar was just upon his target destination now, just a little more running and he would be right below the gangway. No doubt when he got there, hell would be released upon them, but it was acceptable. It was the only way they could protect the Jentarana.

_Now for the hard part._

Skar stopped running, wondering again where Master Bo-Hi's diversion was, and hunched down. Then he extended his legs to the fullest and leaped through the air, hurtling towards the gangway. Blasts rocketed past him, scorching the ceiling above.

Skar's hand reached out to grab the gangway.

_Come on, almost there…_

Just then the entire bay, perhaps the entire _Offeyyu_, shook under a violent blast. In the other end of the bay a door leading to a storage bay flew through the Jentarana bay by the wave of fire compressing on the other side.

The door sliced through stormtroopers like a projectile. Leaving bloodied pieces of white armor in its wake. The flying door finally came to a stop carved into the crates where Skar had been hiding earlier, like a giant throwing knife.

Skar was still flying through the air, the gangway almost within reach, when his eyes caught a black figure came tumbling out of the scorched doorway to the storage bay. Slowly crawling, almost rolling, across the metal floor seeking refuge from the fire roaring out of the open doorway.

Skar's hands entwined around the railing on the gangway, and he held onto it for his life. Ignoring his personal safety he gazed curiously at the new events unfolding below. The stormtroopers were backing off too. Even the big lumpy Imperial officer seemed paralyzed with confusion.

Only then, adding to the compounding terror and confusion of everyone in the bay, another presence showed itself. A river of recognition flowed through Skar, lighting up unknown parts of him, bringing old memories and hopes for the future back into conscience. Skar almost let go of the railing in overwhelming happiness. He felt like a cloud had vanished and the sun was shining on him in superbright brilliance.

Flowing through the fire on an invisible cloud, came a soaring Kayupa flipping across the figure on the floor and landing on all fours, his long sweaty hair clouding his face. Skar witnessed the conquering fear washing through the room, through everyone, at the sight of Kayupa.

And then it hit Skar.

Kayupa was not the same. Lightning seemed to strike all around him, reaching out and touching the floor, ceiling, and the stormtroopers like the tentacles of a blind creature trying to figure out where it was. The electrical currents ran over the bulky Imperial officer, the man stared curiously at them in fear of their intentions.

Then the surging powers retracted and wrapped themselves around the hunched-over shadow lying on the floor behind Kayupa. The lightning ran over the entire man, fortifying around him as it lifted him slightly off the floor. The unidentified man didn't seem to resist as he was being savagely ransacked by prying electrical shocks.

Skar felt his grip slipping. _What is going on?_

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Master Bo-Hi running across the gangway to help him. But he came too late. Skar was already slipping, tumbling through the open air, as his body fell from the immense height. His hands and legs trailed deathly behind him as he fell to the ground like a rag doll.

* * *

Once the electrical waves, brought on by his Dark Side allegiance, died out, Kayupa rose clutching his lightsaber in a bloodied hand, and turned to Raydoen Jayant lying in a defenseless heap on the floor. Kayupa started walking slowly to him, ignoring the hundreds of stormtroopers watching him in the bay. His mind had already noticed the life forms of Skar, Master Bo-Hi, and Shinran.

Pounding hate soured his mouth at the thought of standing face to face with Master Bo-Hi again, but he let it slide. He wanted to settle this new problem before dealing with the old.

Raydoen licked his lips clean of his own blood as he stood. The fire soared behind him, making Raydoen stand out only as a dark shadow in a flaming inferno. Kayupa allowed the colorful image pass over him and instead concentrated himself on his own fire, burning in the shadow recesses of his heart.

Raydoen's tattoo had never shone so brightly. "I've never felt as…rich as I do now." His eyes were cemented on Kayupa as their distance shorted with slow steps. "We share many traits, you and I. You feel it too. I see our connection. Jedi are strong - "

Kayupa shut his mouth with the move of his hand, clutching Raydoen's throat with an invisible hand. "Where I come from we don't play with fire." Kayupa added pressure to the clutch, and Raydoen's hands flared at the grasp, trying to tear himself free. "And whatever connects us, has burnt this hole between us also."

Raydoen smiled as he looked into Kayupa's hateful eyes even though his windpipe was about to be crushed. A knowing smile that his freedom might at last be coming. "So, this is gonna happen? We're still going to fight to the death?"

Kayupa tilted his head and talked very slowly. "You are condemned to your desire, my illustrious friend." The invisible hand disappeared around Raydoen's throat and the vampire set himself on the floor. "This is it, the moment of your death. The passing to the beyond, to be one with all and nothing with the past."

Raydoen pulled out his blades. "I welcome it."

Kayupa rammed his lightsaber down upon the vampire, only blocked by the dangi knives as they created a nexus. Kayupa's blade pounded down in their center, showering them both in sparks. Raydoen jumped back and then leaped forward to strike. Kayupa blocked both the blades with one clean swipe.

Ducking, he moved in close to Raydoen and grabbed Raydoen's black collar, pulling him up and throwing him mercilessly behind him in a blur of motion. Raydoen pounded to the floor hard. The vampire wrestled for air, then jumped to stand and turned to Kayupa, holding out two dangi knifes pointed at Kayupa. One of them was dripping with blood.

Kayupa's blood.

Seeing the blood, Kayupa felt a delayed brain-splitting pain running across his shoulder. Kayupa held a bloodied hand to his right shoulder. He snarled in disgust with himself.

Raydoen had his all-confident smile ready. "See, I drew first blood."

Kayupa removed the already bloodied hand and let the blood wash down his chest in a thick flow. "You will have to get closer than that - "

Raydoen's hand flung forward, allowing one of the dangi knives to fly through the air. Reaching into the Force he just barely found the power to push himself sideways to dodge the flying knife. But only enough to keep the knife from reaching its real target; his heart. Instead the knife sliced through his stealth suit and perched itself in his chest. The pain magnified with the already present pain in his right shoulder, and as he felt the necessity to scream in agony, his right arm went numb and his lightsaber fell from his hand, rolling away across the metal floor.

Kayupa pounded onto the floor writhing in pain, curling up in a fetal position. His teeth clenched together as his right hand reached for the knife that had pierced through his chest, and sat there now like bloodied evidence of his frailty.

Already towering over him Raydoen roared in victory, with one knife still in hand. Kayupa still clutched the knife in his chest with a blood-red hand but couldn't find the strength to stand and fight on. Moreover he couldn't find the strength and courage to pull the dangi blade from his chest.

He reached for the Force for help, it glowed inside his heart like a bright ball slowly mending his bleeding wounds, but not even close to as fast as it had in the past. He tried pushing Raydoen back with the Force, but it was hopeless.

The Force was weakening.

Raydoen hunched over and reached out to pull his dangi blade from Kayupa's chest. As the pale hand held the knife around the hilt, Kayupa grabbed onto Raydoen's wrist with the bloodied hand and used Raydoen to pull him up. Using Raydoen as leverage Kayupa got on his feet, his blood spilling over the floor as he moved.

The dangi blade was still pierced through his chest, but Raydoen couldn't get away. Instead Raydoen snarled like a captured predator. His second hand moved the remaining dangi blade forward to kill Kayupa. But Kayupa pivoted 180 degrees to the left, still holding onto Raydoen, and the new blade struck past his right shoulder.

Then Kayupa released his grip on Raydoen's hand clutching the knife in his chest and moved the right bloodied hand up to grab the knife over his shoulder from Raydoen's hand. Kayupa broke Raydoen's wrist with a quick snap and the knife fell neatly into his palm.

Raydoen's other hand could no longer hold onto the knife in Kayupa's chest as Kayupa bent his leg and struck a kick backwards into Raydoen's stomach. Raydoen tumbled back, weaponless, holding his broken wrist inside his armpit.

Kayupa whirled, flung out his left hand and the lightsaber slammed into his palm, igniting before it even got there, then faced Raydoen, dangi blade in one hand, lightsaber in the other. The second dangi blade was still lodged inside his chest.

"A warrior should know when he is defeated!" Kayupa cried out, his voice filled with agony, echoing forever through the chamber.

Raydoen looked scared out of his mind as he backed away from Kayupa, crawling backwards on all fours, like a coward. But Kayupa embraced him within the Dark Side's grip and pulled him closer. Dragging him against his will across the room, as if he was a puppet on a string, inevitably into Kayupa's reach.

And when he was close enough -

"I would see it coming."

With wide arms Kayupa brought the lightsaber and dangi knife together, cleaving the vampire man in their nexus and the two sliced heavy pieces, what had once been a man craving death, slumped to the floor.

"You wouldn't."

Raydoen laid in two lumps of meat on each side of him. Kayupa dropped the bloodied dangi blade to the floor next to its owner. He powered down his lightsaber and clipped it to his belt, before kneeling down on the metal floor. All around him enemies were waiting for a chance to kill him, the stormtroopers bedazzled as to it all, confused about their role in the scene, but health came before desperation.

Kayupa clutched his fist around the hilt of the dangi knife still in his chest, his fingers slipping in the blood and he had a hard time getting a good hold. Then he inhaled as much air as he could, closed his eyes and entered his meditation pattern. While his darkened soul traversed along the waves of the Force, his hand slowly pulled out the blade inch by inch, spewing blood down his stealth suit as it carved free of his flesh and scraped against bones.

Kayupa found that his sense of meditation had changed, as his feelings sought naturally dark emotions now. The Dark Side was strong with him and feelings of negativity, hate, fear, desperation, aggression, and despair flowed easily to him.

Once the knife was freed, a thick stream of blood sprayed over the carnage around him, blending with Raydoen's blood and painted the corpse in dark red.

* * *

Shinran looked away and held a palm to her mouth after surveying the macabre display. Behind her Master Bo-Hi placed a hand on her shoulder, comforting her. She could sense a change in herself immediately. The nausea went away and she no longer felt like throwing up. He'd used the Force on her. She looked up at him and saw a change in his face.

His jaw was tight with anguish.

Then she dared to look down on Kayupa again, seeing the powerful Jedi Knight surrounded by Imperial stormtroopers, but ignoring them as he meditated. The stormtroopers walked around him, seemingly confused on whether or not to attack. While he might seem an easy prey in meditation, there was no saying he wouldn't come out of it in a flash and kill them if they tried anything.

It was like watching archaeologists examining a figure or a shrine carefully, afraid they might awaken an evil spirit if they touched it or talked to it.

Shinran almost didn't believe what she was thinking. She'd had her reservations about Kayupa all along, but never thought it would come to a fate such as this. Even with her limited knowledge of the Force she didn't need a huge sign saying that what she had seen was the Dark Side.

And Kayupa was in its loving care.

Master Bo-Hi stirred next to her, grabbed his lightsaber and threw his cloak on the gangway floor. Then he rose and leaned over the railing, one foot on each side.

She reached out to him, her voice trembling with fear. "Don't .. don't leave me."

The Jedi Master didn't even turn to look at her. His eyes were fixated on his dark apprentice. "I have to stop Kayupa before he goes too far….it's time to blow this fire out."

Shinran finally reached him and held onto his tunic. "Don't do this! What if you die!"

His sad expression as he glared at his former apprentice made her heart cringe. "I'm not invincible, I know that much, but that doesn't mean I don't have a responsibility. I can't give that up."

His words made her furious. "Don't you do this! Don't you leave me here! I can't make it on my own!"

Now he turned to look at her, a look of despair and utter resignation. He looked like he was ready to die. "You don't need me anymore." He reached out a claw to wipe a tear from her cheek. "Do not doubt him, Shinran. Skar loves you. Don't try too hard to think." He smiled sadly. "Sometimes its better not to think at all."

She pleaded, crying her eyes out. "I'm _frightened_!"

He eased his other foot over the railing, holding on with one hand while the other waved his lightsaberhandle below him. "You must let go of your fears, Shinran. Make your peace with those fears, let it make you stronger. Free yourself of worry … or be engulfed by it."

His hand let go and he fell gracefully downwards down into the bay.

Shinran cried as she watched the Jedi Master fall to the ground, twirling in the air to position himself in a way that would soften his landing. She realized in a way that she had viewed him as much as a Master as Skar and Kayupa had. In a way they were all family. Seeing Master Bo-Hi fly away, sent her to her knees, and she started banging her head against the railing in tormented frustration.

When she opened her eyes again, she spotted Kayupa surrounded by stormtroopers and being confronted by the fat Imperial officer who held a small blaster pointed at the back of Kayupa's head. All the stormtroopers were pointing blasters at Kayupa too, she noticed now. It looked like he wasn't going to make it.

Maybe if Master Bo-Hi got there in time. But even if Master Bo-Hi did make it, would he be on Kayupa's side? Shinran looked around for the one person who might know what to do in a situation such as this, but was no where to be found.

_Skar, where are you?

* * *

_

Slowly Skar regained conscience. Around him laid debris and flaming pieces of both metal and wooden crates. The flying door that had pieced his previous hiding space had ignited flames among them. Something inside them must have been flammable because bits of them were everywhere.

He pushed himself up on his feet and made sure his lightsaber was still with him. He found it lying along with the flames, used the Force to make it fly to his hand and secured it in his belt.

Washing off the dreariness with a hand, he blinked his eyes of couple of times to regain full vision. Even before he achieved that he could feel the tension building all around him. He lingered at the familiar sense of Kayupa somewhere among the stormtroopers who were huddling around him. The Jentarana seemed untouched, hanging above them all like a parent watching the stupid children unfold in dangerous activities.

Skar slowly treaded between the fires and walked assuredly towards Kayupa to aid him. Even without the Force he could feel something was not right. Assertiveness, but aimed at the wrong things, were flowing in the Force. He could feel Master Bo-Hi being very worried above him. Shinran was feeling queasiness. Skar damned his frailty and wished he had known what had happened while he was unconscious.

As he slowly marched across the bay to reach Kayupa, he cradled the lightsaber in his palm, feeling motivated to fulfill a task he no longer was sure was the right one.

Skar felt his fingers twitch. As if by umbilical connection his danger sense flared. Newly awakened from his internal euphoria Skar rolled forward headfirst, his hand unleashing the lightsaber, firing it up as he came out of the roll.

As physical evidence of the danger sense came a lonely stormtrooper rolling across the floor in front of him, spraying bolts at Skar who, lightsaber blazing like fire, managed to deflect one shot back into the man's thigh.

The stormtrooper's roll stopped short as his leg was pierced by the red flame. The man fell to his knee, his blaster sliding away from his hand and he knelt down, only his hands keeping him from falling over. He watched the man, trying to crawl to his blaster.

Skar felt sympathy for the guard, edging to fight for his life, fight till the last drop of blood he had in him. It wasn't evil necessarily, it was pure survival instinct. Skar held out his hand, opened his palm. In front of him the stormtrooper dozed off in mid-crawl. He slumped to the floor, snoring instantly.

Skar picked up his pace towards Kayupa. Only to come to an abrupt halt even before he'd even begun running. Kayupa was crouched in midst of stormtroopers, blood all over his body, and a bad look on his face. The Imperial officer cradled a blaster to his head.

Now Skar started running.

* * *

Kayupa couldn't contain his smug smile. A geyser of pure confidence was spewing inside him. His fingers were trembling but doing so was good, he felt excited though enraged at the same time. His mind collected the feelings of some hundred stormtroopers in the bay, all of them holding him at gunpoint, all of them craving to end his life in the pull of a trigger.

The Imperial officer, an Admiral by the look of his decorations, was also holding a blaster to the back of his head, muttering threats Kayupa didn't care about.

Elsewhere he felt Shinran in great grief and he felt a silent sympathy for her. She didn't have to be here, she didn't need this. Her life was troubled enough as it was. Master Bo-Hi was advancing somewhere beyond the troopers, dedicated to alter the situation in the Jedi's favor.

His petty life would also soon be one accompanied by Death. Even Skar, who also was coming closer, seemed at least to grasp that things were about to change drastically. Kayupa felt sorry for the young Kjoil Knight.

And above, like a god collecting the dead and writing the future with blood, hung the Jentarana. Ready for action. All it needed was its key.

Kayupa couldn't contain his smugness, he greeted all the troopers with a satisfied smile. "Everyone always wants the latest technology!"

The troopers all brandished blaster rifles, all pointing directly at him. He did a quick count and came to the even number of twenty stormtroopers surrounding him, the other eighty or so had retreated or were occupied somewhere in the distance, he didn't know why so many had left or what they were planning to do, but decided for now he could wait to learn that. His lightsaber was cradled in his hand, the only protection he had. Even with his developed skills in deflecting, he knew he could not protect himself against all of them..

Kneeling in front of the Imperial Admiral, Kayupa decided to change the cards a little bit in his favor too. His fists rested at his kneecaps. He took a deep breath and allowed the Force to flow through him, allowing his heightened sensation of victory to silently die. He looked around at all the troopers, looking and sensing for a weakness.

Abiding to his wish, like a loyal puppet to the will of the Force's mind-trick, one of the troopers stepped forward. "Drop your weapon."

Kayupa complied and rolled it across the floor, rolling past the boots of the Imperial stormtroopers and coming to a halt somewhere behind them. The position was perfect. Behind him the Admiral holstered his blaster and stepped up in front of Kayupa, looking down upon him like he was a common prisoner or slave. Kayupa returned his gaze, adding hate to them.

"I surrender."

The troopers immediately began laughing in unison, sounding like an avalanche. At the end of the roaring voices of contempt towards Kayupa's offering, the Admiral shook his bulbous head, still laughing, and looked back at him.

"Your surrender is accepted then, Jedi."

Kayupa nodded, accepting himself into the hands of the Admiral. Two troopers ganged up around him, both of them had holstered their blasters and they grabbed onto his shoulders. They pulled him to his feet.

Sensing the attack Kayupa closed his eyes as the Admiral stepped up in front of him, coiling a fist and pounded it hard into Kayupa's ribcage. The wound that was already there brought a stabbing pain to his body. Kayupa tried to scream but the air had been blown out of him. The Force hurried to calm his torment. His mind calmed and the hurt of the blow vanished as if it had never been there.

"Raydoen Jayant," the Admiral said, "he was my associate. While that implies no friendship between us, he was still working for me."

The Admiral pounded him again, but Kayupa was ready. The pain was fast, and left him even faster, Kayupa felt it only as a small prick. He knew even though the Force was covering the pain, his body still felt the sting. He would have bruises later. Kayupa felt the rage, tempting him to choke everyone of the troopers right there and then, but kept it contained. Events were not in place yet.

Kayupa spat blood on the floor. Then he raised his voice for all of the troopers to hear. "He found what he was looking for, what he prayed for…. Death."

"So will you!" A third fist flew across his jaw, and Kayupa's head flew back. He tasted blood and spat out a mouthful of it. A fourth fist stroked across his stomach, hitting already hurting muscles from the fight with Raydoen.

Kayupa still kept his smug smile behind a torn lip. "Your confidence is your weakness, Admiral," Kayupa searched the fat man's mind, "Stamper. Ankit Stamper. You really think the Jentarana will give itself to you? You really think you're worthy of this power?"

The Admiral pulled back his fist for a fifth hit. "No, not to me. But to the Empire Reborn!" The fist hit home and opened the wound on Kayupa's chest again. The blood flowed down him, and Kayupa noticed how his gray stealth suit had turned permanently black in some places.

Kayupa was still smiling, a sick paleness to his face. "The Empire Reborn? What a joke!"

"Silence!"

As the man struck again, his fat body moved with the punch, and Kayupa found himself briefly hypnotized by the way the pockets of fat moved over the body when he landed the punch on Kayupa's forehead. Kayupa's face was punched down, and his chin hit his own chest, nearly breaking his neck in the move. Kayupa lifted his eyes again to look at the Admiral, blood running from his mouth along with saliva. His eyes were slits, his eyelids prying themselves open to gaze upon his attacker.

Still the smile persisted. "You want to kill me…but you can't."

The man heaved for air, the effort of beating Kayupa obviously one too great for such a heavy man. "You can make it up to me. If you promise not to die too quickly."

Kayupa swallowed blood and looked around, feeling a great amount of hate and a desire for revenge in each of the stormtroopers. Still striking the confident smile, Kayupa looked down at the floor.

"I can't promise that."

The Admiral laughed, his entire body moving with the chuckles. "Oh? You have some last card you'd like to deal before we end your pitiful existence?"

Still smiling, Kayupa knew the Admiral was seeing the confidence in his eyes. And Kayupa knew the Admiral, if he survived what was coming, would remember that smile the rest of his life. Kayupa closed his eyes and opened himself, praying that the Force would show him a path. He tapped into the Force, the larger portion of it that kept life alive, and connected every single being in the universe. Even creatures from far away. Even the littlest beings which crawled through areas he'd never seen or thought existed. Even the largest creatures in life, that were so huge you couldn't see them, even if you were right beneath it.

To his mind life was one, no single object in existence could be without life, and life was all that connected everything into one larger being. One world of powerful forces channeling through every fiber of itself. Again it powered him and prepared him for battle against his enemy. Filling him with confidence and strength to take on even the most impossible odds.

Kayupa felt it surging in waves inside him, swelling into an inner specter of power that he had only begun to understand.

The Dark Side.

Kayupa stretched his body beyond its limits and found what he was looking for. Then oblivion to all the stormtroopers came in the poetic beauty of a Jedi lightsaber snapping to life inside the stormtroopers' midst with a blue blade blazing. Instantly Kayupa dropped to the floor where he rolled over on his back, smiling at nothing. Through the Force invisible hands cradled the lightsaber and it moved intersecting between the troopers, gutting one, decapitating another, mutilating a third, quickly decreasing their numbers as it moved through them.

Mowing through them without prejudice or sympathy. Kayupa held the lightsaber in his head, using the Force to guide the lightsaber around.

The Admiral threw himself to the floor, as the lightsaber flew over him, aiming for a trooper nearby. The stormtroopers could do nothing to evade it. It moved too fast to shoot it. They tried holding up their hands to grab it only to lose their limbs in the effort.

In seconds Kayupa's lightsaber was all over the troopers, who only got a few shots off. Kayupa heard the screams mix with the hum and tear of that the blue lightsaber made while slicing through the troopers' armor, killing them easily before the troopers could even spot the Jedi saber coming at them. Hovering in air the lightsaber killed off the stormtroopers, ignoring their screams as it slaughtered them all.

His mind blocked the sounds as he rose amongst the carnage. He tried not to look directly at the scene unfolding around him as the Jedi lightsaber sent human blood flying in all directions.

Kayupa almost tripped over a severed head as he moved his way out of the mass of dying storm troopers. When it was all over, like a loyal pet, the lightsaber returned to Kayupa's open palm. He took a long, calming breath and shut off his lightsaber. The light dimmed and the hum vanished.

_Stamper._

The anger and rage of knowing how he had suffered at the hands of the man, swelled in him, making him forget his own pain. Kayupa felt the fear inside the man and he felt relishment in sensing the man's pain. Kayupa clipped the lightsaber to his belt, ignoring the slaughtered souls around him as he walked over to the cowling Imperial Admiral, lying with his hands over his ears, as if he somehow hoped that would make the screaming stop. As if it would somehow save him from what was coming.

Kayupa couldn't help but bathe in his own amusement when he towered over the cowling Admiral. His fingers itched to hold the lightsaber in his palms, to hold it above the Admiral, to scare the life out of him. And then to finally take his life.

_I didn't used to think like this. The world has done its work well…_

The Admiral looked pleadingly into his eyes.

"Something kinda sad about the way that things have come to be, don't you think?." Kayupa held out his arms, his one hand tainted in blood. The wounds on his shoulder and chest had permanently repainted his stealth suit in black. Kayupa knew he could patch his entire body up later with the Force. Even with the blood loss he would be good as new. "But why should it mean anything to me if I really don't feel anything at all?"

The Admiral's eyes watered. "… spare me."

Kayupa contained his rage and anger. His hand still twitched to hold the lightsaber again, but he controlled the emotions. "Want a eulogy? Fine by me. Mind if I make it … a tad dramatic?"

Kayupa opened his body to the Force, and slowly felt its healing. The wounds were cleaned and mended. Then the skin pulled itself together to leave only a thin purple line on his chest and one running along his shoulder. Fed up with the stealth suit, he pulled off the upper part of it, baring his chest and belly. He ran curious fingers over the wounds, smiling at their recovery.

Then he started walking in circles around the Admiral, giving the eulogy as promised. "Every sentient being has this natural ability to question themselves and the governments has always monopolized on this. Politically trying to guide us into being mindless animals. Easily manipulated. All the while everyone feels comfortable under these orders and rules. The leaderships of the Galaxy don't want to reveal that the world is heading no where, that life is frantic, dislodged and pointless. But all these governed puppets don't see this. They don't dare to think beyond themselves." Kayupa snapped his fingers. "Like your stormtroopers. Your puppets of Death. They don't dare think for themselves. They just obey the Emperor's vision of what was right and what was wrong."

The Admiral cowered. His fat cheeks trembling in ripples.

Kayupa felt his insides crying, his heart felt like a moist sponge. "Its because of people like you, Admiral, that people haven't dared use their inherited free will. People like you who dare, no, they _hope _that weapons mean control. The Empire has only gained their power by fear, they threaten, and even though some admit to have a free will, they still cower under the barrels of your guns."

"But - what about the Rebels?" the fat man asked, his voice merely a whimper.

Kayupa shrugged. "I'm not saying Rebels are different. They also use weapons, and while they hope to someday govern the Galaxy under the guise of good, they neglect to see that many people are just using them as long as it means they aren't being threatened by the Empire. They command the strength from the will power of those edging to leave Imperial rule. But the Rebel Alliance is just a way-point between the Empire and true freedom."

The Admiral spat. "What freedom?"

Kayupa tilted his head. "Philosophers dare look beyond the confines of these regulations. They dare question authority. But intellectual brilliance is no guarantee against being dead wrong, the philosophers have only interpreted the world; the point is to change it. Being a Jedi," saying the words Kayupa couldn't help but feel remorse, "I have an outlet to how the Galaxy works. I've sensed intentions shattered by fear. I admire courage, but I despise those who stay mute without ever trying to go for it. We're here to learn and evolve, and the pursuit of knowledge is what alleviates the pain of being human. One of the characteristics of the human race is that it has grown by creatively responding to failure."

The Admiral looked confused. "What does that have to do with freedom for the people?"

Kayupa's lips formed a sad smile. Then he held out an open palm towards the Jentarana. "See that? Its a weapon. No different from a Star Destroyer, a Death Star or a blaster. It commands fear. Only without weapons can there be freedom."

"But then … how would anyone protect themselves?"

_Precisely. _Kayupa flared his arms in a disarray. "That's it! I don't know! Every time I dare be optimistic enough to say that protection shouldn't be necessary I know its a lie. The option tempts me, drains me, then leaves me cracked and empty. Dragged down by some bitter gravity. Complete disarmament is an impossibility."

Admiral Stamper licked his lips, tasted the sweat. "But, with the Jentarana, someone could end war everywhere."

Kayupa shook his head slowly and then looked at the fat Admiral with disgust coming up his throat like bile. "I hope so too. But," Kayupa swallowed hard and bitterly, "the world needs to fight. Wars must be fought to have peace. Even if its only for a short time. To restore the balance. Every war ever fought has brought good into this world...its given hope, if only for a short time. Maybe the Jentarana could change all that," he unclipped his lightsaber, "but I'm not the man for it."

The Admiral stared into Kayupa's eyes, while his hand slowly moved towards the blaster on his hip. "Why not?"

Kayupa smiled and looked to the ceiling. His eyes began watering, the unmistakable self-awareness of himself being the wrong guy for the job. "I used to be a man who could do all those things. Now … I'm praying for the ground to give way," his voice was dark and evil, "I wanna watch it all go down."

His watery eyes looked at the Admiral again, spotting the hand reaching for the blaster.

"I've been hiding from the world and I _don't _want to go on like this. Angry and dislodged from who I wanted to be, who I was. I wish that I could disappear, could be no one again." Kayupa a made sardonic smile. "I know the answers to all the problems in the world; I just can't seem to care."

The Imperial Admiral seemed hesitant now. His fingers wavered at the blaster, unsure if whether or not to go for it.

Ignoring the Admiral Kayupa went on. "I thought I could make a difference as a Jedi Knight. But I was wrong. Coming here I had ideals of destroying the Jentarana at the heart of the Coruscant. I thought that as long as I held on to that wish I would still be who I thought I was." Kayupa saw his own reflection in a blood pool by his feet, not recognizing the man he saw there. "When I fought Raydoen, I became aware that my internal conflict could not be quenched so instead I embraced the nature of the identity there. And found it to be evil. More evil than I dared fear." Kayupa wiped away a tear and said a silent prayer for all the dead that had laid in his path. Kayupa stared through tears at the Admiral. "The hidden man inside me."

Now the Admiral's hand was nowhere close to the blaster. "What are you talking about?"

"His real self!"

The Admiral, as well as Kayupa, turned to see Jedi Master Bo-Hi Dzog standing outside the line of the stormtrooper corpses. His blade illuminating his sand-colored tunic in a green glow. His assertive stance the mirror image of a Jedi Master's strength and power.

Kayupa wiped away the last tears and his voice shuddered when he spoke. "You - you _hid_ it from me, Master!" Kayupa unleashed his lightsaber and fired up the blue blade. "Now you'll choke on your own wisdom and secrets!"

The Jedi Master circled his former apprentice, a heavy sadness in his voice. "Don't blame _me _for this, Kayupa. The path you chose, I didn't push you down it. I tried to help you." Master Bo-Hi's shoulders sunk with sorrow and regret. "I never wanted it to be like this. I treated you like a son - "

"A son! Since when has my screams been loud enough for you to hear!" Kayupa spat. "How could someone as weak as you _ever _claim to be my father!" he shouted, his anger echoing through the chamber. "Your teachings are outdated, Master!"

The Jedi Master allowed the Force to flow through him. "You can still push back the darkness of your heart. It doesn't have to end like this."

Kayupa chuckled, a sick coarse laughter. "Only I know my own heart, Master."

Master Bo-Hi pointed to Stamper with his blade. "Let the man go, he's not part of this."

Kayupa pulled his eyes away from his former Master to the cowering Admiral Stamper, whom he gave a fresh smile. Kayupa's blue lightsaber spun twice in his hand before straightening out protruding through the man's midsection. The fat man lingered there, rattling and shaking in unspeakable pain, before the blade retracted, loosening the man on the ground like terminated cattle, only a smoking hole evidence of his execution.

Kayupa swirled the blade and shifted his side to Master Bo-Hi, cradling the lightsaber in strong grip. Mentally remembering each and everyone of his lessons of sword-fighting and fencing. Then when he was ready, he carved a semi-circle in the floor in front of him. His cold eyes never left Master Bo-Hi. Kayupa swung his blade in a wide arc to show off his ground and finished it off with a high guard by his right ear.

Kayupa felt his own rivers of contempt inside him, this was beyond jealousy, this was beyond anger. This was the Dark Side. This was pleasure in taking revenge. Where once a proud and strong man stood, was now a fountain of hate.

"Step across, Master. Its the only way you will reach me, the only way you can undo the evil you have made."

Across from him, Master Bo-Hi sat down in a meditative-state, not to mock Kayupa, but to ready himself for the duel that would end one of them. This was no test, it was actual combat and only one would walk away alive. Even while Master Bo-Hi gathered himself in the love of the Force, Kayupa would kill him without hesitation. Bo-Hi didn't believe Kayupa wasn't interested in a fair fight.

He wanted Bo-Hi out of the picture.

Master Bo-Hi's eyes were closed. "In the name of the Force, in the name of peace, and in the good of every living soul, I will strike you down."

Kayupa scoffed. "Change is coming, Master; now is my time!"

Master Bo-Hi rose, moved forward, bent on crossing that line in the floor. "I knew it would end this way, Kayupa. And like you my evils must be undone. You and I will share the consequences, nevertheless that doesn't mean I'll kill myself just to vanquish you from this world."

"_Enough!_" Kayupa shouted, and the Dark Side of the Force bellowed through his words, pushing outwards in a giant circle around his darkened form, pushing the corpses of the stormtroopers away from the scene, making room for their fight.

As the wave reached Master Bo-Hi, the Jedi Master added his own strength to it, and pushed it back, channeling its energy through him and threw Kayupa back, tossing the apprentice through the air to crash against the wall.

Though Kayupa was powerful in the Dark Side, ancient Sith teachings racing through his arsenal of power, Master Bo-Hi was more than able to propel the man through the room. The Jedi Master's power laid in calm and patience, not hatred and anger, harder to control but vastly more powerful when exercised. Kayupa got back on his feet, his anger growing even more.

Master Bo-Hi kept his outstretched hand aimed at Kayupa, ready to push him down again if needed. "Don't make me do this…"

Kayupa nodded, then lifted his blade. "Don't worry, Master." He smiled, his lightsaber illuminating the pearls of sweat and blood running down his chest. "Soon I'll be dead, and you with me."

* * *

_Please…Let it be a dream._

Across from him a duel had commenced between the two people he'd learned everything from. Kayupa, the Jedi, the inspiration, the friend, was clashing swords with Jedi Master Bo-Hi Dzog, the father, the mentor, the guide. Circling each other like giants, lunging at each other. Green versus blue blades were sparking, striking, parrying, slashing. Kayupa's face was tormented in anger and hate, clenched teeth and wide open eyes, long sweat hair clinging to his neck. The bandana trailed behind him like the tail of a serpent.

Master Bo-Hi's face was focused. The lighting reflected in the metal appendage over his mouth. His moves were precise, well-thought, contemplating, counteracting Kayupa's frenzied attacks of passion.

He didn't know who to rout for. He didn't want to lose any of them, but fate seemed to crave the death of at least one of them. There was no reward to reap. He couldn't choose between them, and he wouldn't help either of them.

If Kayupa won, the Jentarana would be destroyed and the terror would end. But that would cost him Master Bo-Hi, whom Skar believed didn't have to die for the Jentarana. And if Master Bo-Hi won, he would lose Kayupa. And Skar would have to face Master Bo-Hi himself. None of the options were in his liking.

Someone's blood would spill and whoever survived would be Skar's fate. But how could he accept that? Whoever died, Skar would still resent the victor. Hate him. _My demons are my friends. _

Maybe they both should survive. Maybe none of them should.

Skar started to run towards the fighting, not knowing what he was going to do when he got there but knew he had to do something. Before he got very far he was slammed back by a thick invisible wall in the Force, preventing him from entering the battle. Skar didn't know what to do. Every instinct was telling him to break it up, to stop them, but something held him back. A aura of necessity loomed over him. This had to be.

This battle had to take place.

The events in progress had to be decided from this moment.

Reaching out to Kayupa, Skar felt the Force in him as a strong wall, three meters thick and un-climbable. Kayupa was arrogant and self assure, which was a weakness since a Jedi needed to be humble and realize that he was no better than others. Kayupa felt and sounded like a waterfall within the Force. A constant hammering of loud noise, strong in nature, but very loud.

Too loud.

Skar tried the same technique on Master Bo-Hi, whose connection to the Force, in likeness to Kayupa, was strong but as humble as Skar imagined a Jedi should be. Master Bo-Hi was strong but he was aware of what that strength was required for. The aiding of others and the sacrifice of oneself if needed be.

Where Kayupa had been a waterfall, Master Bo-Hi was a steady stream. It felt natural within Bo-Hi and its flow was beautiful in simplicity and purpose. Calm, yet moving towards something. Perfect, yet always in motion.

Skar watched as Kayupa hunched down, lifted his blade, and struck Master Bo-Hi's blade up, removing his defense. But before Kayupa could vantage this weakness, Master Bo-Hi's open palm sent him flying away, sprawling onto the floor.

Kayupa rolled with his fall and came up ready to fight again. Master Bo-Hi's presence, felt through the Force, was re-powering in the Force. He refreshed his mind and body, bringing himself back to its previous glory. Kayupa raced across the room, swirling his lightsaber.

Skar could sense change in Kayupa. He had tapped the counterpart of the Force, the Dark Side. Skar had sensed it in him before. Kayupa was the kind of individual who, like Shinran, didn't take failure well. Kayupa knew too well how to grieve at his own lack of strength. That made him a lethal man to know, any false step would torment him and a rival would surface.

Skar had never judged Kayupa on this weakness, rather respected it and made sure to stay on his good side. The turn to the Dark Side had been inevitable. Skar had seen it coming a long time ago, when Kayupa had resigned from the Jedi. He had never spoken out loud about it, because he didn't want to jinx Kayupa. Even now he knew that had been his real motive to come here. His real motive to save Kayupa; to save him from himself.

Skar admired Kayupa still, his free spirit, his unflinching loyalty to whatever task he set for himself. He resembled a Kjoil in so many ways that it scared Skar. They were so alike in nature, which had cemented their friendship along the years. Skar knew that Kayupa was an inward man, he kept aggressions and agitation to himself. Therefor Skar had heard only little of his intents here on Soliton. Kayupa was always plotting, always thinking, always analyzing.

Skar calmed his breathing, kept his heartbeat even and slow. He kept himself aware of the events unfolding in front of him. Kept his emotions in check and in control. And then he knelt down at the invisible wall, calmed his inner emotions and could only watch as it happened.

_May the Force have mercy on them.

* * *

_

Kayupa stared at Master Bo-Hi through the hate glaring behind his sharp eyes and ready-to-kill smile. Kayupa raised the lightsaber and started running towards Master Bo-Hi. Green and blue blades clashed sending sparks over their holders. Master Bo-Hi pushed Kayupa back and released his blade from the clash. He held his blade high to pound on Kayupa, but Kayupa's blade parried and then sliced down, nearly cutting Master Bo-Hi in half with his own blade.

Master Bo-Hi ducked left, dodging the blade and settled in a new attack-stance. Kayupa snarled and cut in the air with his blade in frustration and anger.

Master Bo-Hi reached out to the Force again, and felt it enforcing his body and mending his bruises. Seconds later he was good as new. "You can't win this, Kayupa."

Kayupa raised his arms in tired confusion. "Win what?"

"Your old self."

Kayupa laughed. "You can't get caught up in emotion when your enemy is upon you. You forget yourself and you fight to survive." He spat. "There _is_ a war going on. But it is a war between you and me. Grudge and mistake. Only one of us can survive." Kayupa held out a hand towards Skar, staring at them both in despair behind the Force's obstruction. "He and I share a fate."

"It will never happen, Kayupa," Master Bo-Hi mocked.

Kayupa jumped at him and Master Bo-Hi parried his three quick strikes and finished off with four rapid lunges that Kayupa blocked with the skill of an expert swordsman. They fought each other through the room, Kayupa giving in to his anger, kicking and screaming as he pounded at Master Bo-Hi, who could only take the blows and parry them as best as he could manage. Kayupa stretched out for any comfort the Force could provide him, but there was nothing.

Only a dark, deep, soulless hole, where once his best ally had been.

Enraged by his futility he raced at Master Bo-Hi. Master Bo-Hi bowed down when he was close enough and pivoted on his heels, delivering a high kick through Kayupa's defenses, landing directly on his jaw. Kayupa fell down, bleeding through his gums. Master Bo-Hi didn't waste time, the Kel Dor jumped up and struck down at the fallen Kayupa. He rolled away and the green blade melted through the metal floor beneath him.

Kayupa finished his roll and came up, snarling.

Master Bo-Hi turned to him. "I feel the fire within you, Kayupa, the weakness."

Kayupa attacked and Master Bo-Hi parried his strikes as Kayupa drove him back further into the Jentarana bay. Kayupa struck at his legs and Master Bo-Hi jumped over his blade. When he landed again he hurried to duck as the blue blade of Kayupa's weapon flew over his head.

"That fire you sense, is _hate_."

Kayupa continued to rain blow after blow on Master Bo-Hi who was losing his ground. Kayupa was an excellent swordsman, his moves were elegant, sophisticated, and efficient. Kayupa's fighting style was more in the lines of fencing than that of Master Bo-Hi's, Kayupa could move faster and better than Master Bo-Hi. Master Bo-Hi had great strength, but Kayupa was young, quick and smart.

He could easily outrun Master Bo-Hi and outsmart him, if he had been concentrating the right way. But the Dark Side had consumed him and his previous knowledge was now spoiled by primitive emotions.

His anger had made him forget the proper attack-stances and Kayupa fought more unwisely now. His teeth were barred, and the blood had dried on his face. The salt in the sweat stung inside his cuts on his face and it fueled his rage even more.

Master Bo-Hi, on the other hand, had complete control. He fought as he had always done, thoughtfully, focusing on strategy rather than speed. It came naturally. It was as much a part of him, as anything he had ever learned. Master Bo-Hi knew that Jedi must do what most men cannot, develop a sensitivity to this Force. He must feel it, feel one with it, feel it flow through him, then his conscious awareness must join the Force so that the knowledge through the Force will become his own.

At some point a Jedi learns to abandon reliance on his own mind and its effort. He learns to stretch out with his feelings, to let go of his idea of himself, and to move with the deeply instinctive levels of his being. By listening, by becoming peaceful, by turning his attention to the Force, he finds that place where his individuality is joined to the knowledge and power of the universe.

As it stood, Master Bo-Hi had the upper hand, Kayupa was falling back and couldn't protect himself as good as he had until now. He looked weary and his blocks were clumsy. Master Bo-Hi noticed it too and was working to find a way to immobilize Kayupa. He struck hard, but his moves were already several strikes ahead, thinking in strategic-methods rather than pure strength.

Finally Kayupa twirled his blade and struck a clean cut at Master Bo-Hi's face. Master Bo-Hi parried the cut with his saber but he then realized the feint. Kayupa's move was so fast, but Master Bo-Hi still felt he had mountains of time to blame himself and curse himself for not seeing it sooner. His powerful apprentice pushed outwards with the Force just as their blades had touched, creating a wall in their center pushing Master Bo-Hi back

He landed hard on his back, immediately reaching out for his lightsaber on the floor next to him. But the lightsaber rolled away, as Kayupa nudged it with the Force. Snarling victoriously Kayupa towered over the helpless Master Bo-Hi, blue blade hovering over him.

"Such a tiresome old fool you are, _Master_."

Master Bo-Hi nodded resolutely. "You've grown strong, much as I suspected. Thus I came prepared."

Master Bo-Hi opened his hand and out flew a second lightsaber from a hidden compartment in his boot, just in time to block Kayupa's powerful downward slash with its shimmering green blade.

Kayupa lost his confident smile. He was an excellent swordsman but as his fight with Raydoen had proven he was not as effective against two blades. Kayupa backpedaled away from the Master, the Kel Dor rising, flinging out his free hand, the second green lightsaber on the floor slamming into his other fist, swirling both blades at his sides.

Kayupa snarled in anger, knowing the Master had resorted to this level of fighting as a way to mock and defeat him. "Two blades, Master?" Kayupa asked coldly, "It won't save you."

"No," the Jedi Master agreed, striking into a defensive stance, one blade held high over his head and the second in front of him, "but maybe it will save _you_."

Kayupa took a step backwards, wanting more than anything to leave the fight. Kayupa knew he had no chance against the Jedi Master now. But before he could make such a choice, the Jedi Master thrust forward so powerfully, his green blades whirling with such speed that he was merely a blur inside in their green light.

Kayupa put up his best blocks, meanwhile admiring the level of skill his old Master portrayed. He had trained himself well in the use of two blades, working them in perfect harmony, spinning them over and about with blinding speed and precision. Kayupa tried to retreat from the battle but the Master wouldn't let up, he kept coming with both blades, striking endlessly at Kayupa's poor defenses.

The Jedi Master lifted one blade up high to pound on Kayupa and the apprentice managed to block, but left his sides open for the second blade. As Kayupa reverted his blade to block the second blade, the first one came back at him, forcing him to return his blade to its other position. It was like fighting two enemies at once. The Jedi Master repeated this tactic again and again, and Kayupa was helpless against it. Kayupa was forced into defensive stances while his former Master was the aggressor.

Kayupa deepened himself in the Force, allowing what little strength it could give him, to guide him. But it was almost impossible to find a calm place within himself, he couldn't concentrate and he was left worried and wary of the oncoming defeat that was inevitable.

The Master had him, he was sure of it.

Master Bo-Hi attacked with both blades, slashing forth, requiring a strong parry from Kayupa, but with the strength of two blades the parry was harmless and Kayupa fell with its strength, almost pushed to the floor, but managing to stay afoot with a quick change of stepping. The attack gave Kayupa more space and Master Bo-Hi was still in revolution when the apprentice came around, ready to attack.

Kayupa darted forward, turning into the aggressor, coming at Master Bo-Hi with an unequaled ferocity, letting his hatred drive him, pushing himself forward, his anger fueling his motions and actions, pounding on the Jedi Master with his single blade as best as he knew how.

But the Jedi Master parried all his attacks with little effort, the twin blades creating a sphere of defense around him that Kayupa had no hope of penetrating. Kayupa still charged, kicking and screaming, knowing it would definitely kill him, but his anger was too powerful. There would be no surrender. If he was to die now, he would die fighting, expending all the energy he had.

Master Bo-Hi crossed his blades to intercept a low attack, Kayupa reverted his blade and came down with a powerful lunge, and Master Bo-Hi raised the crossed blades to intercept the second attack in their center.

But it never came.

Kayupa pulled his blade back just in time to stab it forward, beneath Master Bo-Hi's crossed blades and pulled inside and up, shattering the unified blades, and left Master Bo-Hi wide open. Kayupa lunged forward, the tip of his blade piercing through Master Bo-Hi's shoulder. The Jedi Master cried out in pain, dropping to the floor, both blades flying from his hands. Kayupa jumped onto him, reverting his blade over his Master's face, the tip of his lightsaber hanging directly over Master Bo-Hi's face.

Though a lightsaber gave off no heat from its blade, the Jedi Master was sure he could sense the warmth of the blade as it hovered over his face. The Jedi Master laid perfectly still, his breathing heavy.

Using two blades the way he had would exhaust its user eventually, even someone as powerful as Master Bo-Hi. The Jedi Master knew that Kayupa wouldn't need much more reason to kill him now. However that might hurt to think, he knew it was true. Kayupa was not the young man who had once begged Bo-Hi to train him anymore.

Instead of killing his Master right then and there, Kayupa stepped back and lifted him up with the Force and watched the weak Jedi Master suspended in the air before him. Kayupa's hand reached out in pity and touched his master's cold yellow cheek, and his eyes went sad.

His voice was no more than a whisper. "As I drown the snake, and look into his eyes, my fear fades. I promise you, Master, when I recall this moment, I'll think; I should have cried then."

Master Bo-Hi, completely at the mercy of Kayupa, gasping for air and aching in pain, looked over to see Skar.

Skar could feel his Master's emotions twirling around, his thoughts desperate. For a long time, Master Bo-Hi and Skar stared at each other in silence. Unable to do anything but be held in the breath of the Force. Skar's eyes watered and his hands trembled in fear. He was powerless to do anything. Yet he felt a great deal of shame too, he was doing nothing to prevent his Master's death and in that was the greatest betrayal.

Kayupa raised his lightsaber and the blue glow bathed over Master Bo-Hi, who was helpless to change to his fate.

Kayupa's eyes went blank, cold and merciless as he reversed the blade, intent on stabbing through Master Bo-Hi's chest. "Death is not the end, Master."

Something clicked inside Master Bo-Hi, Skar could feel it from where he stood. Kayupa had given him an advice, but as to why Skar didn't know. Skar saw as the Jedi Master raised his pale clawed hand up to hold onto the metal appendage over his mouth.

As he did he looked over at Skar, his yellow hand unattached his breather from his mouth, then his hand carelessly threw it away. Then he removed both of his goggles, letting Skar see his eyes for the first time.

_Fate has swept away our kind, as must I follow_, came the last sorrow-filled words from the mentor as he deepened himself in the Force.

Skar's heart bleed. He understood the sacrifice that Master Bo-Hi had just made. He'd chosen to take his own life. This way he would be ready for death and he would prove himself right to what Kayupa had told him about death not being the end.

_He's killing himself. _

Screaming, Kayupa dropped to his knees and plummeted the blade straight up through Master Bo-Hi's chest. The blade drove through his internal organs and exited right below the back of his neck. Master Bo-Hi gasped blood from his punctured lungs.

"_Noooo!_" Skar cried.

Kayupa pulled his lightsaber free and Master Bo-Hi slipped off its end, pilling together in a heap on the floor. Kayupa cocked a smile, and then spat once on his former Master. With that he turned away from the dying man, a man he'd once called father, a man that had once called him son, cold and oblivious to the feelings he should have felt. "Not all martyrs see divinity - but at least you tried."

Master Bo-Hi was hunched over, his crying the only proof that he was still alive. But Skar knew it wouldn't last long. Skar could hear Master Bo-Hi take a long deep breath of the unfiltered air, the air itself dangerous to his already depleted health. Skar held onto his Master for two more seconds, before Jedi Master Bo-Hi Dzog vanished from life and became one with the Force, physically as well as spiritually.

Skar's hands flew to his face. His entire fragile world fell apart inside the warmth of the Force. The fourth person he'd thought of as a parent had died. Lwen, Sasa, Koll, and now Master Bo-Hi. All of them taken from his life. They'd brought him up only to leave, only to disappear from life faster than he could say goodbye. His tears dripped onto the floor, and Skar felt a burdened relief in knowing that Shinran and Kayupa, whatever was left of him, had not vanished from him too.

Skar looked over at Kayupa, the anger directed at the man biting at him, yet he knew it was meant to be this way. The moment passed between them, neither of them ready to look each other in the eyes and go on with the mission to destroy the Jentarana.

Skar raised himself up, wiped away the last tear with the back of his hand and turned to see Shinran come running across the bay to him. And Skar began to weep again in her warm embrace.

"He's gone." she said softly into his ear. "Bo-Hi…"

"I know," he said. He didn't know what else he was gonna say. No words could express his feelings at this point. Nothing came close to describing his thoughts. He just knew he was glad she was there. "Stay here with me."

* * *


	6. Fated Farewells

With guilt hanging in his heart Skar mended Kayupa's wounds. The slash on his chest had been reopened while fighting with Master Bo-Hi. Skar had found a first-aid kit on one of the dead stormtroopers. He placed the antibiotic synthflesh patch on his chest, which began treating and cleansing the wound. Skar produced another and slapped it onto his shoulder. Kayupa screamed in pain, barred his teeth, and his hands clenched in fists.

When the pain vanished he looked up in Skar's face. "Thank you."

Skar only nodded, a numbness inside him. A feeling of sorrow but not sure where to place it. Not sure if it was justified, not sure if it would vanish when they'd done what they'd come to do. He turned and looked at Shinran.

Her face was dark. She had been staring at Kayupa ever since the duel had ended. Skar remembered feeling her torment when she'd hunched down by Master Bo-Hi's tunic. A few seconds later she'd set fire to it, saying she didn't want to feel like she was leaving any part of him behind. Skar only then realized how much the mentor had meant to her too, he may have been a Jedi Master to him, but he had been a tutor and teacher to all of them.

"You feeling any better?"

She shook her head. "Tired." Then she looked over at the crouching Kayupa, her eyes flaring with disgust. "You know, he never hurt anyone."

Kayupa frowned. "From your point of view, lady."

"Am I wrong, Kayupa?" she said full of spite. "I can't wait to see you prove _that_!"

Kayupa slowly shook his head. "Lady, I told you to trust me -"

She was furious. "You _shut _up! Shut up right now, you _arrogant _bastard! You've _killed_ him, you killed Master Bo-Hi! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

Kayupa's smile could freeze lava. "Yeah, its too bad he's gone. He would have made a nice trophy."

Skar stepped in between them. He'd seen enough fighting between loved ones. "Come on! We all need to stay calm here." Skar placed a palm on each of their shoulders. "Now, look; we're not out of this yet. There's still the small problem of a Star Destroyer up there in orbit. Waiting for us. In fact I can't think of one good reason as to why it hasn't blown us apart yet. They must be waiting for their commander to order the assault before they dare take the chance. How are we gonna get out of here? What about the _Koniduz_? Do we still have that?"

Kayupa nodded.

"Great," Skar said, "then let's hail it down here and leave."

Kayupa rose out of his crouch. "Skar, you and I, we came here for a reason."

Skar nodded and looked up at the ever present Jentarana. Its existence had yet to be liberated. "You're right. Then let's get to work - "

Shinran's fist clutched around Skar's wrist and she pulled him back. "You can't trust him! I told you. Look at him, or for the love of the stars, use the Force. You must feel that he is not the same. He isn't Kayupa. He's gone over to the Dark Side!"

Skar's feelings were diminished. He'd subconsciously been avoiding the issue. He'd not touched Kayupa with the Force ever since Master Bo-Hi had died. Mostly because he was afraid of what he might find. He looked over at Kayupa, echoing the words Kayupa had spoken to him a month ago. "I came here looking for the friend I had two years ago. Is he dead?"

Kayupa's hurt look made Skar feel sorry. Even more as Kayupa recited the words Skar had said to Kayupa's words. "No, he still lives. But he has changed too."

Skar felt a touch of anger. "We _will _destroy the Jentarana, as promised."

Kayupa nodded, a small smile forming at the corners of his mouth.

Shinran was still not pleased. "I should have known."

Kayupa's smile vanished and he stepped over and got in Shinran's face. "There are things at stake here that you can't imagine! So stop your whining! I'm beginning to regret I ever saved you in the first place. All you've done is sit around and whine about your putrid life! I'm sick of it. So tempt me one more time, and you'll join that sorry excuse for a Jedi!"

Skar grabbed his shoulder and pulled him away. "Stop this! Now!"

Shinran followed Kayupa even as he was being pushed away by Skar. "Don't you talk that way about him! You didn't even know him!"

"What! I didn't know him!"

"No, you didn't know him! You have no idea of why he even came here."

"Oh, I have a pretty good idea - "

"No, you don't. You only think you do! And you stand here now, with the Dark Side settled in your heart and dare call _him _a sorry excuse for a Jedi? Look inside yourself for a moment, Kayupa!"

"I told you not to - "

Skar raised his voice. "Stop it! The both of you! I don't wanna hear anymore of this. We have to work together, as a team if we're gonna get out of here."

Shinran frowned. "Team? Since when did Jedi and Dark Jedi work together!"

Kayupa remained pushed back by Skar, though Skar could sense his wish to run over and kill Shinran. Skar held him firm, physically and mentally as Kayupa's face molded into confusion.

"Why did you like him so much?"

Shinran hugged her elbows. "The same reason you feared him. He knew what secrets were in our hearts. In all of us. He knew more about us, than even ourselves. That was why you feared him, because you were afraid of what he might know was in your heart. The darkness." She turned her back to them both. "He knew great things, when he talked you listened."

Kayupa frowned. "Yeah, you're right. He had a lot to say. He had a lot of _nothing _to say!" Kayupa freed himself from Skar's grip and started walking over to Shinran. "Always ranting and pointing his finger at everything but his own heart. And you swallowed his facade because you were so eager to identify with someone who seemed to feel the same, someone who could lead the way." Kayupa stood right behind her, mockingly whispering into her ear. "To guide you because you're too _weak _to do it yourself."

She didn't turn to look into his eyes. "Tell me - the real reason why you killed him?"

Skar heard Kayupa's smug laughter, which only made him wonder about the question himself. He'd always thought he knew the answer, but maybe there was more to it than just the destruction of the Jentarana. Maybe there were more secrets.

Kayupa whispered again, his answer in the mockingly self-amused tone. "Eye for an eye."

Even with all his abilities in the Force, as well as the Dark Side, Kayupa couldn't keep himself protected from Shinran's punch. His head swung back and he touched his lip, where Master Bo-Hi had kicked him earlier in the fight. The bleeding started again.

"Damn it!

Shinran held out a bloodied fist, ready for another punch if the opportunity showed itself.

Kayupa looked over at Shinran. "Nice punch." The bloody smutch still running down his chin, Kayupa looked over at Skar. His eyes ran up and down Skar, noticing the change as if for the first time. "Do you like my suit?"

Skar was thankful for a change of topic. "I thought it would come in handy. Follow your own way, right? Like you did."

Kayupa's face twisted in self-loathing. "Didn't know I had a lapdog," he said coldly, "when I said follow your own way, I didn't mean follow _my _way. I never said do what I do, I said _do what I say_."

Skar took it as a shot at him.

Behind him Shinran was smiling amused as she looked around at all the corpses surrounding them. "How relevant."

Kayupa flared out his arms. "All of this could have been avoided, you know? If Master Bo-Hi had not been so persistent." Kayupa glanced at Skar. "All your training, all your time spent on Kryuu, it was all so you could learn the secret to the Jentarana, so he could operate it, so he could win back his name and bring the Jedi out of their shells. He was obsessed, Skar. He didn't care about right or wrong. That's why he kept so many secrets. Don't you think he should have mentioned earlier that we were living in a Sith Temple, with the spirit of the Galaxy's most feared man living in the basement? He was weak. I don't know when he gave into his desires, but we both know he did."

Shinran was still smiling, knowing something the others didn't. "You're wrong, Kayupa."

Kayupa was still concentrating on Skar. "That was why I withdrew myself, so I could take precautions to his plan. I hoped he would see the wrong of it, but seeing your ship coming through the clouds, I knew my hopes were useless. He would never stop."

Shinran stepped forward. "You're a liar - and what's worse; you know it!"

Skar found that strange. He looked at Kayupa, suddenly not seeing a friend, but rather a huge question mark. "What is she talking about?"

Shinran went on. "I told Master Bo-Hi about your theories. He told me they were wrong. He never wanted it. He was out here to protect you both. He loved you each. Kayupa's been filling you with lies. Just like I said."

Skar stared at Kayupa, wanting to believe them both to be right, but knew he couldn't. Skar didn't know who to trust. "Kayupa, tell me that isn't true."

Kayupa didn't answer.

Skar turned to Shinran. "Shinran, tell me that isn't true."

She didn't answer either.

Skar ran a hand through his hair, nudging the bandana. It had been a gift, or credit in exchange for a favor? Skar didn't know. The stealth suit, the blaster, were they too collateral or were they offerings between friends? Sentimentality or persuasion? Skar fixed his gaze on Kayupa, tired of all the charades. "How did you know about the _Witty_?"

Kayupa tried his best to look confused, but it only looked overacted.

"Tell me!"

Kayupa gathered himself, stared with hate at Shinran across Skar's shoulder. Then looked back at Skar, betrayal in his eyes. Sadness. He swung out his hand at the gangway above them to the Jentarana.

"Indulge me, and you'll have all your answers."

* * *

_There it is_, Skar thought as he slowly walked down the gangway, _only a few more steps away_. Captivated by the awesome battle machine, Skar felt his mind go blank. There were no words, not even feelings that came close to explaining the sense of honor and pride he felt in his heart. 

_Someone in my family made this._

Skar did notice however that Master Bo-Hi must have left his cloak there when he left to fight Kayupa. Shinran picked it up as they passed it. They held hands as they strolled down the gangway. Oblivious to the danger of the Star Destroyer above, finding only safety in each other's palms. Skar felt Shinran's worry and her very anxious mind. She didn't like this at all. Prone to nervousness as she was, Skar could only do so much in this particular situation. He didn't want to admit it, but unveiling the Jentarana meant more to him right now than her inertia.

Skar squeezed Shinran's hand, the only way he could help her right now. For once he was willing to admit that his Jedi heritage came first. Because this was too important. This was his legacy. To open the Jentarana and destroy it.

Skar stared at the naked back of Kayupa as they walked along. Seeing the scar that ran down his back. Skar remembered the intimacy between them on the day he'd first seen the scar. They shared childhood memories. They'd realized how much they were alike, and a friendship had grown from the tragic events in their younger years. That friendship had begun to wilt it seemed, a cloud had passed over the sky and the light was fading, leaving the flower to die.

But the thorns could still prick if one wasn't careful. Skar looked down one end of the Jentarana, saw the strong metal tail, looked down the other end and saw the ferocious head. It was enormous. Skar felt a tingling in the Force. The moment was here, they were here. The unveiling of the key, whatever it was, should come to him soon. Nothing had come yet.

But before that mystery was solved, another had to be. As they approached the access panel, Skar watched Kayupa run his hand over the hull near the main access. Caressing it. Skar had never understood Kayupa's weird bond to the Jentarana. It was something unexplainable, he could even feel it in the Force. But there was no reason why a man from Shalasha, a captive orphan, would have any connection to it.

Kayupa typed in a code Skar couldn't see on the panel and the door slid open, revealing a darkness that looked like it was about to leap out and devour them all. Skar squeezed Shinran's hand again. Now he was worried too.

Skar gathered the courage it took to step forward. "You owe me an answer."

Kayupa turned, fire in his eyes. His hand reached down to his belt, dangerously close to his lightsaber, but instead unhitched a comlink. He tossed it to Shinran, who stared at it in wonder. "Use that, when you want to hail the _Koniduz_."

Shinran nodded and placed it in her belt. "I'm not leaving without Skar."

"And I'm not leaving," Skar smiled, "until I get my answer."

Kayupa mused. "The moment of revelation. What tale would be complete without it?"

Skar crossed his arms, feeling agitated. "The _Witty_?"

Kayupa nodded hesitantly, and leaned against the nearby railing. "During my seclusion I traveled around Kryuu. Trying to find purpose in it all. Basically I was trying to find some way to lose my addiction to the Jentarana. As a Jedi I knew such feelings would corrupt me in the end."

Skar remembered a piece of their conversation on the bluff. "I remember you acknowledging that you wouldn't let yourself be attached to others. You saw it as a weakness."

"I still do." He looked at Shinran.

"But why? Where is the weakness?"

Kayupa reminisced. "Strength is usually about independence. And to be independent requires self-sufficiency. Self-reliance. But that was not on my mind at all. Rather I figured my task to destroy the Jentarana would kill me in the end." He looked sad. "I didn't think I'd make it back. I didn't want to be connected to anyone, didn't want to let anyone in."

Skar found himself recalling a quote from Kayupa that he hadn't understood at the time, but it made sense now. _In life there are many doors, there are doors that open by themselves. There are secret doors. There are doors that lock. And there are trapdoors, that you can't come back from. _

Skar held out his arms in confusion. "So what? You came out here to die?"

Kayupa pushed away from the railing and placed himself in front of Skar, they were face to face. Mistrust and uncertainty was painted on both their faces, none of them knew where they stood compared to each other. Were they still friends, or were they enemies? Skar prayed for the former. He'd beaten Master Bo-Hi in a duel but so had Kayupa. They were unmatched the both of them, Skar couldn't predict victory on his part, anymore than he could acknowledge Kayupa might be better than him.

Kayupa spoke. "I thought you had the same wish to do this. This neglected task. But - now I see you only wanted to help me." He nodded, the slightest of smiles on his lips. "You came here for me, not the Jentarana."

Skar nodded, rested a hand on Kayupa's shoulder and gave it a little shake. "As long as I can trust you. About destroying the Jentarana. That's still our job, right?"

"I need you here with me, Skar, as a friend and because you are the holder of the key."

Skar frowned. "No, I'm not. My uncle told me I would know the answer but I don't. I have no idea."

Kayupa smiled and turned his back to him. "It came to me that the key could be anything. A thought, a word, a feeling. And as I delved deeper inside the possibilities I thought; maybe its not any of those. It could just as easily be a person or an item. If it was a person, it would have to be someone that went with Skind wherever he went. If it was an item, it would have to be something he carried with him at all times."

Skar felt the lightsaber against his thigh. He firmed his hand around it.

Kayupa held out his hand. "Give it to me."

Skar shook his head hesitantly. "No, its not something as simple as that. My uncle was smarter than that."

Kayupa's smug smile lived again. "I know. Please."

Skar unclipped his lightsaber and handed it to Kayupa. There was something uncomfortable about handing over his weapon to Kayupa. He didn't like being disarmed in front of him.

Kayupa looked over the lightsaber, still smiling assured of himself. "The man, the legend … Skind Kjoil."

Skar dared to smile, while his hand reached out to find comfort in Shinran's. "You always did like drama, Kayupa."

"Well, what story would be complete without it? Every tale has to have a hero, a villain, a lover, a fight, a mystery and then finally the unveiling of that mystery."

Skar nodded. "The key to the Jentarana."

"We already have our hero; that's you. The villain is cast by me, regretfully."

Skar himself was amused now. "I've heard stories that end with the villain turning good in the end, saving the day. Its not too late, Kayupa."

"We'll see." He looked at Shinran. "And we have the lover."

Shinran hugged herself nervously. Skar could feel her hate for Kayupa boiling.

"Its in you, Skar. Its the Kjoil passion. Their weakness." Kayupa cradled the lightsaber between his hands. "And like Skind, it could mean your fall."

Skar looked back at Kayupa, denying mentally every thought of Shinran's potential danger of driving him to the Dark Side. "That leaves the mystery," Skar announced, "the _key_."

Kayupa took his predatory eyes off Shinran, and held Skind Kjoil's lightsaber up in front of Skar. "You know what a retinal print is, right?"

Skar knew what it was; a security device that identified individuals by comparing retinal patterns with the prints stored in a database, to access, for example, a door. But if what the Jentarana needed for a key was a retinal scan, the mission had failed. Skind Kjoil's corpse was nonexistent.

"I know it, yes."

"This is close," Kayupa said, "only a lot more accurate. The cockpit of the Jentarana responds only to the genetic code of Skind Kjoil, his physiological data, and only so if the lightsaber is inserted as the key."

Skar was dumbfound. "So the lightsaber is the key, after all?"

Kayupa shook his head. "Its only half; the other half is Skind Kjoil's genetic code. The cockpit creates a scan field that reads the data of the occupant. But the scan field is only activated if the lightsaber is inserted and powered."

Skar heard a rumble nearby, like an explosion. He pulled away from the conversation, reached out with the Force. Huge reds energy beams were protruding the clouds above and striking down dangerously close to the _Offeyyu_. It seemed the time had come. The Star Destroyer was unleashing its turbolasers on Soliton. Bent on destroying the _Offeyyu_.

And with them inside.

Shinran pulled him over. "We've got to call the _Koniduz _now if we're going to get out of here alive. We can't defend ourselves against a Star Destroyer."

Skar nodded. "Maybe the _Offeyyu _has some weapons - "

Kayupa shook his head. "I already checked. The ship is weaponless. That was why they brought the X-wings."

Skar tried to think of a solution. But came up with nothing. All around him the world trembled with the barrage of turbolasers from above. In the end he turned to Shinran. "Right, then call the _Koniduz_. We still may have a chance to - "

Kayupa cleared his throat and Skar turned to see the vicious smile on his mouth. Smug as always. "I'll deal with that."

Shinran stepped in front of Skar. "You'll what?"

"The Jentarana. It would make little work of a Star Destroyer."

Now Skar had heard enough. "What in blazes are you talking about? You can't activate the Jentarana with just the lightsaber! You said it was only half of the key!"

Kayupa nodded.

"And you don't have Skind Kjoil's - " Somewhere along the sentence Skar considered the words. Finding truth among them.

Shinran turned to looked at him. "What? What's the matter?"

Kayupa was still smiling.

Skar shook his head. "I was only his nephew, our genetic code isn't similar. It can't be!"

Now Kayupa laughed. Then he dropped the Skind Kjoil's lightsaber, leaving it hovering in the air with the Force, before it whisked away into the Jentarana, finding its roots in the control-less panel on the armrest in the cockpit.

Then Skar heard the sound. The blue and gray hull seemed to illuminate. Glowing internally with a slight hum, as if alive by itself. He heard grained gears snapping into place. Motors running. He heard a low rumble as if the Jentarana itself was coming alive.

And it was.

The huge head, the copy of a rancor's, opened its mechanical jaws and released a powerful roar. The sound made the entire bay tremble, along with the gangway which caused Skar to tumble over, knocking Shinran with him as he fell. The entire room was vibrating by some innate force. Off to his right Skar saw the head lift, very little, but enough to send a flow of fear through him.

Then it turned, looking over at the three people on the gangway who'd just resurrected it from its grave. The eyes were a throbbing red, the very image of a hellish nightmare.

Skar began to crawl backwards, hauling the screaming Shinran with him.

Near the opened main access Kayupa stood, laughing like a mad man, as the Jentarana broke free of its confines and settled its enormous feet on the ground, adding to the waves of trembling already shaking the bay. The arms released themselves too, stretching themselves as if waking from a long sleep, before clenching in huge fists. The tail waved from side to side like a playful dog. Then the beast began moving around in the small confines of the bay. Smashing accidentally into the walls and ceiling. It was trapped in there.

And it wanted to be freed.

Again the eyes looked at the gangway, looked at Skar, then Shinran, and then Kayupa who was staring back at it in ecstasy. Again the bond between the two eluted Skar, only left him mesmerized on the gangway floor to watch as the terror of his entire life came to breathing again for the first time in two decades.

Skar felt internal guilt. If Kayupa had been right, his genetic code, along with the lightsaber had activated this creature.

Skar got to his feet, reaching for his lightsaber to defend himself against the creature, only to remember the menace had already swallowed its creator's weapon. His survival instinct told him to run, but a ripple in Force told me he could not escape this moment. He could never run from his inheritance, he was destined to destroy the Jentarana. There would be no escape.

Skar held onto Shinran to protect her. She was still screaming under his arms. He didn't need the Force to tell him that she was terrified. Then Skar studied Kayupa, standing at the jaws of the Jentarana, looking like its first meal after a long sleep. Skar began to run to help Kayupa out of the way, but the wave reverberating through the Force knocked him on his back.

_Who did that? _

Skar tried to step forward but the fear of it all pulled him back. Instead he yelled to Kayupa's back. "How did you know the key!"

Kayupa turned, now looking like the dark man he'd impersonated when coming into the bay on electric currents. The lightning was shooting from his shoulders and fingers, running over the entire bay in a haze of blue streaks of light. He was the Dark Jedi again.

Then his mouth moved, very slowly and Skar couldn't hear the words of the carnage of lightning and the massive Jentarana moving its bulky body around the bay. But he heard the words internally through the Force.

_Skind Kjoil himself told me the secret._

Skar felt his heart dampen, darkness shrouding it in its grasp. He replied. _You went to see him? But Master Bo-Hi said he doesn't talk to anyone but me, anyone but family._

Kayupa smiled.

Skar managed to take a step forward. "Why did he talk to you, Kayupa!"

Kayupa looked at him, his eyes a cloak of danger and deception. "You keep calling me Kayupa - "

Skar felt ivy running up and down his bones, felt it slithering at his heart, drenching him a cold state of disbelief. "What?" Skar beat it away and concentrated on the more immediate danger. "How do I shut it off?"

"You?" Kayupa quizzically asked.

"Yes, me!" Skar screamed. "My genetic code activated it! How do I shut it off?"

Skar felt movement behind him before Kayupa could answer and saw Shinran sporting her blaster, training it on Kayupa. Her face was filled with anger.

"Give my best to Master Bo-Hi!"

Skar reached out with the Force to stop her from shooting, to stop her from hurting Kayupa. But her finger had already pressed the trigger. The blue energy raced through the air, passed Skar's form, only to hit dead center on Kayupa's now illuminated blue lightsaber. The energy beam then reversed direction 180 degrees and bounced right back into the pit of Shinran's belly. Shinran went down, a smoking wound on her belly.

"No!" Skar screamed at the top of his lungs.

"I promised her back on Nar Shaddaa," Kayupa said in a low hateful voice, "that if she ever pointed a weapon at me again, she wouldn't be walking away from it."

Skar raced to her aid, hunched down next to her, and held her head up as she wrestled for air. Skar looked deeply into her eyes and saw the fear there, and the regret. Inside she was regretting ever going to Soliton, wishing she'd stayed back on Kryuu.

Skar's tears dripped onto her clothes.

Her hand reached up to touch his face, searching blindly in the haze of her pain. "Skar, go on…you promised …"

Skar placed his hand on her wound, and immediately channeled the Force through her. To his own fear he felt that the wound was fatal and that she would die soon, if she didn't receive proper help. The kind of help the Force could not provide. Skar clenched his teeth, letting his anger sink in and anchor itself in his soul, caring not for the danger of doing so.

Then he stared at Kayupa, hating the man more for every second that passed. "Kayupa!" Skar reacted on the hate, pulled the blaster from Shinran's palm and aimed for Kayupa's head.

"You'd point a weapon at your own brother!" Kayupa laughed over the inferno of noise around them. "Don't be coy, Skar. Fire that weapon and you'll join her."

Then he turned his back on them and walked closer to the Jentarana. Skar saw his intent to mount the Jentarana through the main access now looming close to the gangway edge again.

He stopped briefly at the edge, looked over his shoulder at Skar. "Come with me, Skar. Leave her. We can still be heroes."

"Not like this!" Skar screamed, the blaster still pointed at Kayupa's back. "Tell me how to shut it off! Tell me how you knew! Tell me why Skind Kjoil spoke to you! Tell me why you know the Jentarana so well, Kayupa!"

Kayupa turned, a slight sadness in his eyes. "Don't call me that, Skar. Please. That man died two years ago - "

"Stop it! Stop the Jentarana now!"

Kayupa shook his head. "Once I've destroyed the Star Destroyer I will. Then I'll cast it into a pit so dark that it will never see light again." Skar felt another presence in the room as Kayupa opened his mouth again, his mouth spilling out someone else's request. "For I am a prisoner of fate, a prisoner of emotion and destiny, the curse in all genes. My past cannot be undone, nor my future." His eyes looked at Skar, and Skar saw someone else's spirit behind those mountains of hate. "Only if the Jentarana is gone, can I go."

Skind Kjoil's words.

Skar felt the components coming together, the pieces of the puzzle melting together before him. Kayupa was no longer Kayupa. Somehow he'd - Skar didn't want to think it. The words made sense but he wanted them to be wrong.

"You're - "

Kayupa smiled smugly one last time, then turned and leapt, flipping twice in the air, before landing gracefully inside the main access of the Jentarana. Kayupa turned to give Skar one last look before the main access sealed shut before him.

Now Skar ran.

He hauled Shinran onto his shoulder as he ran down the gangway, dodging falling debris and making his way through the shudder vibrating the entire bay. His mind was set, he was getting out of there. Behind him he heard explosions, roars, the clatter of the entire bay falling together in chaos. Flames streaked through everything, bringing the air to a boiling temperature. If he didn't get out soon, they would die in the explosions. Skar reached the door to safety and slammed his body up against it. The door held. Knowing seconds counted, Skar slammed his hand into the access-panel, but it did nothing. They were locked in.

He heard the screech of the metal claws on the Jentarana as they pierced through the walls and the Jentarana bellowed into the onslaught of sudden sunlight. Kayupa's maliciously laugh echoed through the collapsing hangar.

"Skar! Lets step outside!"

Skar dropped Shinran's lifeless form to the gangway-floor and started pounding on the door, hoping that someone would hear him.

Then the bay lit up in a giant red flare. And blinded by the superbright light, Skar fell over as the entire world around him dissolved in a blinding white flash of light, drowning him, blinding him, sending him into a sleep of perpetual astonishment. Then the light collapsed inwards and he felt himself tumbling down deep into a pit of darkness, leaving him shattered on the surface of too many things that had never crossed his mind.

Then he knew no more.

* * *

General Koan had promoted himself to Admiral of the _Myrmidon_. He'd even been so bold to rename the ship. Before it had been Admiral Stamper's _Atrophos_, but no more. Now it was the _Myrmidon_, an instrument of menace and terror for all of the Galaxy to cower in fear from. 

Admiral Koan was here to put things back in place.

Admiral Stamper had not reported back at the scheduled interval and now he was presumed dead. Admiral Koan used the occasion to manipulate the crew, he'd rallied them together under his own new leadership to assume the loss of their previous commander. He remembered standing impatiently the last five minutes before Admiral Stamper's scheduled report. Silently praying the report wouldn't come through. He'd even considered destroying the commstation so that even if Stamper was still alive, no one would hear him report.

_Chance favors the prepared mind._

Shattering the _Offeyyu _was just a way of decorating the grave. He wanted to make sure Admiral Stamper wasn't coming back. The report hadn't come through, and Admiral Koan was the rightful heir to the command.

Admiral Koan believed in grapping opportunities as they came. Elevation of the corporate ladder was always desired, even by the mindless minions running around behind him on the bridge. He didn't care about the deception and dishonesty he had unfolded here. Or even what the crew thought about him bombing their previous Admiral's grave. It was of little concern. He was in charge now.

Once his bombing was over, he'd find some off-beat world to terrorize in the name of the Empire.

_Stamper has to be dead. Can't have him coming back. This is my boat now. But it is a pity though, I would have enjoyed personally choking the fat slime right here before the crew._

Resting comfortable in his new command chair, he rather enjoyed the spectacle outside his viewport. Red beams pierced down into the atmosphere, shredding clouds and leaving the ground below in a burning cloud of dirt and dust.

Ah, the power he possessed.

"Gunnery, keep firing."

The turbolasers continued to pound relentlessly at the already devastated remains of the _Offeyyu _below. Admiral Koan didn't care whether or not he actually hit something. He just liked flaunting his power and felt no guilt. Finally he had reached his rightful place in life, finally he was going to prove his worth to the Galaxy. And anyone that might stand in the way, would feel his wrath.

_I'm the king of the castle now. No more fights about leadership. No more -_

The sensor officer looked up. "Admiral, inbound craft moving at high velocity."

Admiral Koan flew to his feet. "What? Is it one of ours?"

"Negative, rapidly moving through the atmosphere. Admiral, it doesn't meet the profile of any Imperial ship."

Admiral Koan tried to spot the craft out the viewport but failed. Instead he backed away and towered over the officer in the pit below. "What profile does it meet _then_? There aren't supposed to be any other ships."

The officer ran the profile of the ship through all known specifications. Nothing came up. "Its .. something new, Admiral."

Admiral Koan snarled and turned to his communications-officer. "Anything in the recent transmissions about an unknown type of craft or ship?"

The officer held up his hands in defeat. "Admiral, we haven't been receiving any transmissions for the last couple of weeks. Since the Emperor died."

"Then check the older ones! Check through every transmission we've received in the last year!"

The man groaned. "Admiral? That would take days!"

Admiral Koan needed to know if this new vessel was friend or foe. It would be immensely foolish to shoot down a potential ally. And he didn't feel like waiting for the unknown craft to shoot first to prove its intentions. Admiral Koan looked back at the officer. "Perhaps you've got something better to do?"

The man cowered. "No, Admiral."

"Then hop to it." Admiral Koan turned and addressed his gunnery officer. "Concentrate our turbolasers on the new ship. But don't open fire until I give the word, understand?"

"Yes, Admiral."

Admiral Koan turned again to look out the viewscreen and spotted the shadow moving through the atmosphere. _She's a big one_. With that thought soon came a mental connection to something he had almost forgotten. The very reason why he was even in this sector.

_The Jentarana._

Admiral Koan thought better of his orders and returned to the communications-officer, busy reading through every transmission they'd received through the past year.

Admiral Koan cleared his throat. "You know what? Scratch that last order, and hail the new craft. I wanna talk to this guy."

The officer complied and Admiral Koan positioned himself by the hologram-projector. The image cracked before settling into a fuzzy image of a man's face. The man looked focused and determined. Sweat was running down his face and the cockpit around the head was humming in a bloody red.

Admiral Koan linked his hands behind his back and lifted his chin. "Unknown vessel. This is Admiral Koan of the _Myrmidon_," he'd never felt so proud, "state your intentions or you'll be fired upon."

The man said nothing, didn't even flinch.

In the distance Admiral Koan saw the craft grow in size, it was already too big for a craft so far away. Admiral Koan felt the first shred of inertia creep up his spine. "State your intentions!"

The lips moved, slowly, and the words cut through Admiral Koan's defense like a razor. "I intend to kill you, _Admiral _Koan."

The Admiral shook it off and tried to remain composed. "Do we know each other, pilot?"

The man shook his head. "No. Your Admiral Stamper is dead."

"We know, pilot." Admiral Koan said. "He was a great leader, in my mind. I will miss him," Admiral Koan lied.

The man snickered. "No, you won't."

Admiral Koan nodded. "Indeed. Nevertheless if you killed him that makes you our enemy."

The man laughed and his fixed eyes stared directly into Admiral Koan's soul. "Enemy?" The transmission faded with one last image of the defiant smile. "I hope you are insured."

* * *

Kayupa smiled internally as his prediction came true. _The Jentarana has no controls; its guided through the Force_. Although he was pleasantly surprised, he found that somewhere in his memory he'd already known the fact. Many things came with sharing the spirit of Skind Kjoil. Details about the Jentarana, details about Skind himself, as well as the memories of that man. 

Kayupa tightened his hands on the armrest and kept his focus in the Force. Any divergence from it would possibly send the Jentarana flying in the wrong direction and he didn't want that.

Kayupa felt his spirit soar as the Jentarana came in for a long sweep of the _Myrmidon_, flying overhead its wedged shape. He saw, but not as much as felt, the red streaks of light firing from the turbolasers along the ship. Kayupa knew he could retaliate easily with his own turbolasers, but refrained from doing so.

This was personal, and personal required face to face confrontation, and that was just what Kayupa had in mind.

The Jentarana flew like a dragon over its prey, continuously working to break through the turbolaser pattern and strike a blow at the very heart of it. Guiding the Jentarana with the Force was complex, but was similar to moving an object with the Force. He guided it through his feelings, his emotions, until the Jentarana and him were one. They melted into one spirit, one entity, striking vengeance upon the Empire.

Moving his own hand out into the empty cockpit, the Jentarana's arm copied the movement with its own immense limb. Then he slammed his hand down into the armrest, and the Jentarana smashed its clutches onto the hull of the _Myrmidon_, shattering armor and sent shards of metal platting drifting lifelessly through space.

Then it slammed again, knocking out a line of turbolasers as it went. The red blasts struck the Jentarana but its shield was better than that of a Star Destroyer. State of the art, only twenty years older. The blasts just bounced off, joining shrapnel as it flew into space.

Kayupa relished zero gravity. It was like floating on a cloud, all he needed to do was think of a direction and the Jentarana complied. Its powerful sublight drives, newly installed, rocketed the Jentarana between the stars as it danced around the Star Destroyer, picking at it like an overgrown bully. Although the _Myrmidon _was seven times its size, it mattered not. The Jentarana was faster, stronger, better shielded.

And it was protected by the Dark Side.

As the voice spoke over a speaker, Kayupa regained Skind Kjoil's memory of an onboard advisory system. "Avoid excessive use of the drives." The voice was that of a soft female kind. The firmness of it making Kayupa believe the woman had been Jedi. "Short bursts to one side or another is all that is necessary to avoid incoming shots."

Kayupa heard, but did nothing to comply. The Jentarana was his now and he'd use it anyway he saw fit. Next, Kayupa moved the Jentarana down to the belly of the _Myrmidon_. No doubt they would soon launch fighters and bombers to attack him but he wasn't in the mood for picking them off one by one.

Even so, he had no doubt he could. The Jentarana would simply stand and swat them like flies. Kayupa's lack of patience motivated him to make a quick kill. The Imperials were going down, in one piece, or millions.

They had no choice.

As he neared the fighter bay, he used the landing clamp to attach the Jentarana to the belly of the _Myrmidon_. Securely fastened, it slowly drifted with the _Myrmidon_, like some slug sucking on a bigger animal. Like a parasite. He spotted several pilots rushing to their fighters inside the bay.

By thought he swung the strong tail up like a hook into the bay, smashing fighters and humans as it swung from side to side. He could feel alarms go off all over the Star Destroyer, hundreds of minds fearing for their lives. Nevertheless he persisted in smashing the bay relentlessly. The gravity system failed and soon all air was sucked out of the bay, leaving it lifeless, and useless.

But Kayupa was not done. He pulled back the tail and rammed it straight up into the superstructure of the _Myrmidon_. Slicing through several levels with its super-fast vibrations, destroying several life-support systems, and leaving a huge part of the ship devastated.

Devastated and useless.

The _Myrmidon _was bleeding oxygen and lives were expiring all over. The turbolasers were still pounding the Jentarana but to zero effect. Kayupa felt his blood rushing, the adrenaline and surge of power flowing through him, enforcing him to think of more drastic and destructive measures to finally quench his lust for revenge. It didn't matter to him that the lives onboard were, in a great part, innocent.

It mattered only that they'd sworn allegiance to the Empire, a government he'd long wished and desired to see writhing in pain.

Him _and _Skind Kjoil. They were the same on that part.

The predatory Jentarana then dislodged from the Star Destroyer, drifting slowly into space, surveying its piece of work. Like an artist admiring proudly his latest creation. Oxygen was flowing like water from several areas around the hull, he spotted dead bodies being flung into space by lack of pressure. He saw men hanging onto their lives, before fate whisked them away into the coldness of space.

And he enjoyed it.

"Use the Force to determine when you are in danger of attack and when you can relax," the female voice advised, "cooling your weapons and recharging your shots."

Kayupa directed the Jentarana on a wave of Force as it came up on the left side of the _Myrmidon_, dodging shrapnel as it looked for a new place to wreck havoc.

Gliding in space it finally unleashed its power. The turbolasers came to life, shredding metal hulls from the main structure, leaving new cuts open, ending the lives of more, partially, innocent men.

He watched as the red beams of death, by his mere thought, dug deep furrows into the shield generators, crippling the entire system of defense.

Then when he was done, he slid the Jentarana along the hull, bringing it up close and personal with the bridge. Before dealing with the bridge, the Jentarana spun on its tail, bringing the spear-like tail to bear on the last remaining shield-generators on top of the bridge.

Then he slammed the tail deep into the neck of the bridge, securing itself to a spectator seat right in front of the bridge.

He could feel the fear radiating from the fifteen or so men on the bridge, unknowingly rushing to save themselves by pouring useless power to the last remaining turbolasers. It was futile, he knew. But the spectacle was morbidly interesting to watch.

Kayupa smiled as he swung out his arms, stretching them to their fullest. Then clapping his palms together.

Outside the Jentarana copied the gesture, resulting in its two strong arms smashing through the bridge from both sides before flattening its gigantic palms together in the middle of the flaming fury that ensued. An explosion followed, rippling through the entire Star Destroyer like a wave.

In seconds it would all be over, and nothing would remain of the _Myrmidon _except the few surviving pieces of shrapnel that would make it through Soliton's atmosphere. Kayupa disengaged and sat back at a secure distance to marvel at his creation.

The _Myrmidon _went down bleeding, before imploding in a great giant ball of fire, never again to aid the Empire's plague of terror.

* * *

Skar's bleeding knuckles did nothing to deter him from his quest. He scraped them, adding more bleeding cuts to his hands, across the rocks as he threw boulders and rocks away from Shinran's supposed grave. He could feel her alive somewhere below. The landslide and the exploded _Offeyyu _hadn't been enough to kill her. Nor had it terminated Skar's life. Only sent him into unconsciousness, protected by the Force. 

As he dug in the massive crater, he was only partially aware of the rubble lying around him. The explosion had resulted in a huge crater and after that a landslide of shrapnel and rock had come down upon them. Now he was trapped in this giant hole, hoping that the Force would be enough to lift him and Shinran up the seven stories to ground level. From there they could call the _Koniduz _to pick them up.

Skar could tell from the lines streaking in through the atmosphere that the Star Destroyer above had met its demise. While that was a delightful thought, delightful meaning so many things, it also meant that Kayupa had survived. Skar only prayed that wouldn't mean he would come back. While Skar felt the Force telling him that he had to destroy the Jentarana, right now he could do with Kayupa being on the far side of the Galaxy.

The only thing that mattered was Shinran. Skar tried not to think about anything but digging. Every time his mind started to wander away from the task the world seemed to gang up on him, letting him remember painfully what had occurred during the day. Everything flooded to him in a never-ending flow of pain and regret. He couldn't help wonder if what he had done that day was wrong. He found that coming here to find and help Kayupa still seemed right. It had been the right to do to come here.

But leaving Shinran with Master Bo-Hi; that could have been a mistake; she needed him. He'd counted on Master Bo-Hi to be able to protect her. And Kayupa, he'd faced down Master Bo-Hi for the both of them; a task Skar had no regrets about not having for himself.

Skar felt his heart freeze. _How can I say that? _He did miss Master Bo-Hi and was sorry to have lost him. Skar couldn't help but think of Shinran's claim that Master Bo-Hi had never wanted the Jentarana. If that was right…

Skar felt his hate rise to the surface. _Then Kayupa is a killer._

Skar felt something moving beneath the boulders. Then he heard harsh coughing. Skar stood back and used the Force to gently remove the remaining rocks one at a time. He sat them all down neatly beside the new hole, then jumped into the hole and pried Shinran free.

She was still coughing when he laid her down on the flattest surface he could find. She was still wearing Master Bo-Hi's cloak, laced with holes and torn fabric. Her face was covered in dust, her skin a sickly white pale. He brushed off the dust from her face and looked for the life-sign that the Force had assured him was there. She came to, coughing up dirt.

Skar sighed in relief. Her eyes scouted around her curiously, as if to first understand then what had happened and where she was. Then she looked at him, her green eyes mesmerizing and chilling him as they always were. Their eyes locked and they embraced in a long awaited passionate kiss.

Skar pulled away, kept both hands on her cheeks to warm them, to get the color back in them. "Hey, gorgeous. You alright?"

She frowned for a moment, then curled her lips in a sarcastic grin. "What do you think?" She coughed. "What about you?"

Skar caressed her forehead, and remembered something she'd said to him. "I wanted to see you again. That hope kept me alive."

She leaned in to kiss him again. "Smooth talker."

* * *

Shinran walked past him, still coughing, moving back and forth franticly. Skar thought about asking her to stand still but knew it wouldn't help. She was anxious to get out of there and he didn't blame her. Skar glanced at her wound and tried not to think of her time as ticking away. She had recovered immensely from one of his Jedi techniques but the effect would wear off soon and she would be in pain again. Hours after that, she would die. 

Skar perched his elbows on his knees and placed his palms on his cheeks. "We can't change what happened."

She didn't stop. "No. I know." She grinned loosely. "The Force doesn't warrant time travel, does it?"

Skar tried his best to smile, but couldn't. "No, that's the first of limits on a very short list."

"So what do we do?"

He looked up at her. "I … honestly do not know."

"Why are we even thinking about it? Lets get out of here."

Skar rose to his feet, brushed off dirt and walked over to her, holding her still for once. "What about Kayupa?"

His hold on her wasn't strong enough. She broke free and walked away, staring at him like he disgusted her. "You can't be serious! After what he's done!"

"I know what he did. And I hate him for it. If what you said was true about Master Bo-Hi, then I know. Okay, Shinran? I _know_. And I hate Kayupa for it!"

She clutched her belly, fighting the pain she was feeling. How she stayed upright was beyond him. "But you're willing to stay here, and fight him again? For what? Heroism?"

Skar could barely contain his rage. "Shinran, this is what you bought into when you got involved with me. You knew that I've sworn allegiance to something greater than all this. Something greater than even Master Bo-Hi. The Force is telling me to stop him, not for revenge, not to vindicate Master Bo-Hi, but because what he's doing is wrong!"

Shinran was enraged. "But you heard him! He said it himself that he would destroy the Jentarana after he's destroyed the Star Destroyer," she held out her arms, "and he has!" She looked to the heavens and shouted at the top of her lungs. "Thanks, Kayupa! You're quite a guy!"

Skar pointed out the obvious. "Then where is he?"

"I don't know! Maybe he died in the explosion. Maybe he killed himself by plunging the Jentarana straight into the Star Destroyer."

Skar felt sick pride. "No, it could take even that. The Jentarana would have survived even that."

She was speechless.

"I know that if we take off now, he'll come back to haunt us later. We can't escape him."

"Why? Why should he come for us?"

"Because," Skar hesitated, "he's my friend."

Shinran was silent for a moment. "What does that mean?"

Skar turned his back to her. "You heard him. Somehow Skind Kjoil has taken control of him. That's how he knew the secret. He isn't himself anymore. He's my uncle. And I promised I would set my uncle free by destroying the Jentarana. Its the only way I can set him free. That's what he wants."

Shinran walked up behind him and put her arms around his waist. Her warmth was a welcome embrace. "But you still hope you can still save Kayupa, don't you?"

Skar nodded. "I can't look away. I have to meet it head on." He felt genuine pride. "It isn't about taking lives. Its about giving. If I can help Kayupa, then maybe I can give him back his life. If I can't, then I can at least give him peace."

"So you'll fight him?"

Skar released himself from her embrace and walked away, he needed space. He knew his actions were hurting Shinran but he'd made a pledge to the Force and to his uncle. He couldn't disavow that. "I can't put things back together the way they were. But I can fix the future. That way I can give what happened today meaning and not make it into some horrible nightmare that I'll wake up from screaming in the future, wondering if I did the right thing. My uncle…he turned away from the responsibilities of a Jedi so he could be with the woman he loved. I understood it at the time, but now I am in the same position. I can't ignore my responsibility like he did. I have to stay and fight Kayupa. Its the only I can prove," Skar remembered Lwen, "that I am not a _coward_."

Her eyes looked at him, as if she saw something in him she'd never seen before. "I know you're strong."

He looked up at her to show her his determination. "But never doubt that I have our interests at heart, whatever I do." Skar stared dead ahead. "I still feel us, Shinran. But this is one of many things I have to set straight."

"You think Master Bo-Hi would have wanted this?"

"That doesn't matter. Its what I feel must be done."

Shinran hugged him hard and Skar could feel the hurt inside her. He tried to comfort her but it didn't work. "Lets just go away, okay?" her eyes began to tear and Skar heard the plea in her voice, "show me that you love me and that we belong together. Away from all this, all the obligations that come with it. Away from all this evil. Lets just be _us_."

Skar smiled and tightened his grip on her hand for comfort. "I want that. I want that so much, but I must face Kayupa," Skar said and looked into her teary eyes and tried to make her stop crying by showing her a confident smile, "we _can _get through this. We can have what we want, but this last test must be completed first."

She cried even harder and Skar held her close.

"Please trust me. I know this can be done somehow. I can't let Kayupa stay here."

She held herself against him as hard as she could, as if she tried to get inside him. "What if you fail?"

Skar nodded, rubbing his chin against her temple. "Trust me."

She looked up into his eyes, and the tip of their noses touched. This time she smiled and Skar felt their union strengthen again. She reached up to her cheek, dried away a tear, and ran the tear over his lips. He tasted the salty tear, kissing her. Slowly he gave her another small kiss on her forehead for courage. She shivered within his arms and he smiled.

"So where am I while all this is going on?"

"You don't have to do anything. Just be here."

"I wish that was enough."

"Believe me, it is." Skar took in a deep breath. "When we first met, I felt so sorry for you, I thought I had to make everything good for you." Skar smiled. "But now I know that's not what you need from me, you don't need a healer, you need companionship."

She looked up at him, looking surprised that he knew that about her. Skar knew that he hadn't said it before, but also knowing her independent nature it was only obvious that she wanted it that way.

It didn't take the Force to realize that.

She cried, but it was tears of joy. "I love you, Skar. I never suspected you to hold any key to my anxiety." She smiled. "I expected you to hold a _diversion_. And you did. You let me wander into a life of myth, Skar. Don't leave me living it all alone."

He smiled. "I promise."

They hugged, sharing the feelings of love and unity. Skar felt Shinran squeezing him so hard he was about to burst. Nevertheless he continued to hold her close.

The moment shattered as Skar felt danger. He reached out with the force, expanding his awareness like sonar, and picked up on the source.

"You know, Kayupa was right about one thing. This tale has all its key elements."

She looked up at him, confused.

Above the crater he began to see a shape forming. And even without the Force he recognized it all too well.

"But the tale lacks the final crucial chapter; the confrontation."

* * *

With Shinran safely hidden inside the crater there was nothing else Skar could do but wait for Kayupa to come to him. And Skar knew he would. Skar positioned himself in the center of the crater, his hand once again went to his hip where his lightsaber should be clipped but he'd forgotten that it was now incorporated into the Jentarana's control system. He was weaponless, both his and Shinran's blaster had been wrecked in the explosion. 

He heard Master Bo-Hi's words, reminding him of the innate power he possessed within. _Fight with your mind. The lightsaber is a weapon, but you posses one greater._

Trusting the advice and feeling it to be true, Skar calmed himself in the Force and readied for the inevitable.

The Jentarana descended through the skies, thundering through the clouds, before perching itself on the ledge of the crater. The ground shook as the weight pounded onto solid rock. Skar fought to remain standing. Once the shook wore off, the Jentarana opened its hands and then clutched them again in a threatening manner. Skar allowed it to flow over him, leaving him unimpressed.

Then the head, the metallic copy of a rancor's, looked straight at Skar and roared. The roar shook the ground in waves like an earthquake, and Skar began to run forward towards the Jentarana.

Rolling with the tumble he put himself directly under the Jentarana, hiding beneath the ledge it had perched itself on. Skar could feel Kayupa drawing on the Force to move the Jentarana. It resonated to Skar like red flashes of light, letting him see where the Force drain was coming from.

The Jentarana lowered its head and turned it sideways to look down upon Skar. Skar held onto the rock-wall for support as he expected another roar.

"There you are!"

_There is no emotion, there is peace. _Skar got to his feet, using the Force to keep himself in check, calming his fear, as he started talking to Skind Kjoil rather than Kayupa. Skar dared to slowly walk out from the wall that the Jentarana sat upon like a bird. Shrouding himself in its shadow.

"Uncle, face me!"

He heard Kayupa sneer before the Jentarana leapt from the ledge in a gigantic jump and landed perfectly inside the crater, shaking the entire crater and causing more rocks to landslide down the walls. It then preyed upon Skar, corning him up against the rock-wall.

"Ignorance is not a burden anyone should bear!"

Skar flattened himself against the wall, the Jentarana's head moving in close, like an animal sniffing its prey. Gently it pushed its nose up against him, pressing up him against the wall, careful not to crush him, but pinning him safely for keeping.

"You wanna know who I am?"

Skar placed his fists on the cold metal and began to pushing himself up against the wall, an effortless move he knew, to push the Jentarana away. His arms buckled and he couldn't amount the strength needed.

With a heavy sigh he accepted defeat.

"Don't test me, Skar. Your skeleton isn't strong enough to withstand the pressure if I decide to squash you on the wall." Kayupa laughed, voice tone filled with self-amusement at the power he possessed.

Skar screamed at the giant. "Why not take me on yourself!"

Kayupa's laughter boomed over the walls of the crater. "Call me sentimental, but the poet in me thinks it would be the ultimate irony if I killed you with the very weapon your uncle made to protect you!"

Skar tried pressing back the head again but it was useless. He was trapped. Skar felt his bones aching under the pressure. But he still maintained calmness inside the Force. _There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. _Skar folded himself inside the Force, creating a bubble of protection, then he moved it outwards, magnifying his protection, and pushing the Jentarana away.

Once he was free of the head, he rolled sideways and came up ready again. He pushed outwards again, punching the Jentarana back inside the crater. It waddled on its hind legs like it had tasted something bitter and sour. It shook his gigantic head then looked at him in awe.

"Skar, don't fight me!"

With new strength Skar raced across the crater, the Jentarana following his every move, then jumped onto a boulder for leverage, to stand face to face with the Jentarana. The huge red eyes staring down upon like it was ready to eat him. Resolutely Skar jumped from the boulder onto the Jentarana, smashing against its face. His bleeding knuckles felt like they were on fire as he pulled his legs out of its mouth and climbed onto its scalp.

The immense arms came flying towards him, eager to punch him off, but Skar ducked under their swings. The Jentarana lifted up on its legs, lifting Skar to some thirty floors into the air, well above the crater. Reaching out to the Force he flattened himself on the head, using the Force to keep him there.

"Skar! What do you think you're doing?"

Skar held onto the head as it swung from side to side, trying to throw him off. Skar delved inside the Force again, hoping for an answer. Kayupa could keep him up here until he caved and then it would all be over. He needed counsel.

Inside the Force he felt few solutions that would benefit his personal health in exchange for victory. Skar delved deeper, studied his very own mind for hints he'd picked up along the way. Scouting his own brain for help, waking up subconscious knowledge to help him now. Meanwhile the Jentarana continued to tear at him with its hands and shaking its head.

Then it came like a flash. Kayupa's duel with Master Bo-Hi. Skar did not have his own lightsaber in possession, but didn't mean he couldn't obtain one. Flinging out his open hand he reached out to the crater below.

Released from a rocky grave came a short cylinder object flying straight up into the air and dropping neatly into his palm. Skar rose on his feet, keeping himself balanced with effort, and ignited the green blade.

The green blade sizzled as it slid neatly and without difficulty into the scalp of the Jentarana. The beast roared in pain and increased the intensity of its movement. Skar dug the blade out again, then inserted it in another area of the head. Sparks flew, spraying over him like fire. Next he moved the lightsaber in a long swipe, leaving a huge tear open on the head of the Jentarana.

The entire head seemed to catch fire as Skar, victoriously, began to slide down its neck, over the back and further on down to land softly on the ground. He ran to nowhere special, only wanting to put distance between him and the Jentarana.

In front of him the Jentarana was on fire with rage. Its tail swung without grace, carving through rock-walls in a hopeless effort to hurt Skar. The arms came down pounding rocks into dust. The entire spectacle caused the crater to shutter, and Skar had to run to dodge falling boulders and rocks.

Using the Force as a shield the rocks bounced off it before they could crush him. Skar made sure he was always behind the Jentarana, destroying its hope of seeing him directly.

But he knew Kayupa would be able to sense him within the Force. Taking that as a warning Skar found asylum in a tight crevasse and immediately calmed his body, calmed his heart-rate, and placed his body in hibernation. He moved quickly to block his mind, while maintaining the frozen state.

Now Kayupa couldn't see him or feel him.

He suspected the Jentarana to have motions sensors but they would only pick up on things that moved. The Jedi technique he'd unleashed would make his body into a statue, undetectable to any motion sensor. The block he'd set around his mind locked off his mind to the outside, leaving Kayupa without a way of tracing him through the Force. Meanwhile Skar would know perfectly where Kayupa was, he could still sense him even though Kayupa couldn't feel his touch.

The effect was optimal.

"Skar! Where are you? I'll crush you into dust!"

Skar reinforced the Force to calm his mind and allow him to see things in a fresh light. All he had to do now was think of some way to disable the Jentarana. Even though its shield could withstand even plunging into the heart of a Star Destroyer, the armor itself was not strong enough to withstand a lightsaber. It could deflect most blaster shots, but not the carving elegance of the heated blade. Without its shields it was very vulnerable to his lightsaber. But where was the best spot to attack?

"Skar!"

Skar penetrated Kayupa's mind. _Its doesn't have to be this way._

Kayupa's response was filled with infuriated anger. "Damn you, Skar! Don't hide from me! You and me, we're better than that, we don't shy from combat! We are warriors! We share the same blood, the same ancestors! We are both sons of destiny! Don't you do this to me!"

Skar kept his focus, oblivious to the devastation behind him, created by the Jentarana as it smashed everything in sight. Skar only prayed Shinran knew she was safe where she was and that she wouldn't leave the hideout. If she did, the Jentarana was sure to pick up on her and use her as bait.

Or worse; kill her.

_Tell me what happened in the cave._

Kayupa seemed to quiet down. The Jentarana still smashed everything it could, a sign that Kayupa's anger was still very dangerous.

"I went to the cave and Skind Kjoil showed himself to me. He said he had a secret. I meditated and the truth came to me, the secret Master Bo-Hi kept from me, the reason I wanted to kill him, the reason I came here to destroy the Jentarana. To find peace."

Skar heard the sobering and felt Kayupa's incurable pain. Such torment Skar had never felt in one person. The loss of identity, the loss of the soul, and the loss of the self.

_What was the secret?_

The Jentarana slammed its tail into the rock-wall, creating a flow of falling rocks onto the floor, creating more crevasses and tearing the ground apart. Skar prayed the ground would hold and that there weren't any caves underneath. He didn't want to fall through the ground one more time.

Scorched rocks landed around the Jentarana's feet and as it moved they were pulverized into a delicate gray powder.

"I … am not Kayupa. That's not my true name. I am merely a product of the war."

Skar didn't understand. _What war?_

"The Clone Wars!" Kayupa screamed.

Skar couldn't see how the Clone Wars could have had any affect on Kayupa. He was born just as it started. He was born around the time Skind Kjoil died. And Master Bo-Hi found him on Shalasha shortly after that. How could Kayupa have been even close to the Clone Wars?

Then it dawned on him.

It wasn't so much about the Clone Wars in itself. Kayupa had given him a hint, but it had been too obvious for Skar to see it. Skar felt his heart weighing down inside him.

_No…_

"It's the truth!" Kayupa's voice was alive with unspeakable pain. "I am Skind Kjoil's clone!"

To hear him say it out loud broke Skar's heart. But before he could deny it, Skar remembered the past clues of the last two years and so, he remembered the familiarity he'd felt whenever he'd seen Skind Kjoil on holo. He'd always thought he was recognizing himself in the image, when infact he was recognizing Kayupa. Kayupa's face had all the traits of Skind's yet it was different. It was not a complete copy.

Kayupa and Skind had grown up like two different men, and so had encountered different situations. They were not the same, but somehow their beliefs and emotions were frighteningly similar. All this time he thought he was idolizing Kayupa and Skind separately as two different people. When in fact they were the same man. They shared the same blood.

_How?_

"It was how I was able to unlock the Jentarana. It wasn't your bloodstream. It was mine. You were never the key. I have Skind Kjoil's exact blood-type. The same genes. I am him, physically. But Skar, you've got to believe me. I didn't know before my solitude. After I found out, all of Skind Kjoil's memories, thoughts and emotions keep flooding my mind. I can barely hold on to the man I was before - the man who was your friend. I fed you so many lies about Master Bo-Hi, only to keep you on my side, to keep you from being manipulated by his lies."

Skar wanted to shiver. _How couldn't you have known before?_

"The program created me as an infant with his exact bloodstream. I grew up not knowing that I was actually someone else. Can you imagine the feeling? To find out that who you thought you were, who you've _fought _to be, was really someone else?"

Skar couldn't. _No._

"I nearly didn't come back. I sat for days with my lightsaberhilt over my heart. I was going mad! But my lust for revenge to Master Bo-Hi was too great. I couldn't kill him on Kryuu. I had to do it here, so I created the story of him wanting the Jentarana to himself. I manipulated you into coming here, played a game on your friendship to me!"

_But … you still want to die?_

Kayupa laughed. "I am a prisoner of fate, a prisoner of emotion and destiny, the curse in all genes. My past cannot be undone, nor my future."

Skar felt like crying but didn't want to give off his position.

"But if you didn't come here … who would kill me? That is all that matters now, death is the only way I can be freed from this torment. I'm tired, Skar. _Tired _of feeling like fate has regretted putting me into life, like its trying to break me every chance it gets!"

Skar shook his head in despair.

Then a second later he realized his mistake.

_I moved!_

"There you are!"

Using the Force as leverage Skar leapt straight into the air, right after the crevasse was permanently destroyed by a barrage of turbolaser fire. In midair Skar powered his jump sideways, landing directly to the right of the Jentarana. It turned to face him, turbolasers at full charge and blasting huge furrows in the rocks behind him. Skar rolled forward, in between the Jentarana's feet.

He powered up the green lightsaber, jumped straight up and used both hands to cut a wide gash in the belly of the Jentarana. Its plating exploded instantly, raining fireworks down around Skar as he touched back down and rolled away from the lightning. The Jentarana was off balance.

It wobbled from side to side, as if unsure how to stand.

"Damn you, move!" Kayupa was obviously talking to the Jentarana itself, infuriated with its loss of control.

Skar sprinted back in between its legs, eager to do more damage. Skar's sprint came to a halt just in front of the right leg. He held up the blade, ready to strike -

Then it raised its right leg and bounced into him, tossing him across the rock floor and shattering his body against the wall. Skar slid down from the wall, bleeding internally and externally. The Jentarana's head turned to look at Skar, as its red eyes lit up with power surges.

The turbolasers lit up too.

"Not too impressive, Skar! Master Bo-Hi's training has been wasted on you!"

Skar kept his focus ahead as the Jentarana came charging towards him, with a raised arm ready to crush him. Skar lit his lightsaber, ready to fight to the end. Even in his weak and powerless state.

As the Jentarana came charging, Skar imbedded his soul in the Force, desperately thinking of some way he could still win without dying. There had to be a weakness. Something he hadn't thought of. Or something he'd forgotten.

Words fought through his panic and out his lips.

"_Selia Iver!_"

The Jentarana, looking like it was choking, slid to a halt mere inches from crushing him. The machine turned in every direction, trying to understand where it was and how it'd gotten there. An out of body experience for the soulless.

Inside the Force Skar felt another entity enter the scene, and as its presence was felt, it also took on physical form. When the metamorphosis was complete, the Jentarana reared its head and seemed to look at Skar in silent curiosity.

Inside the cockpit Skar could feel Kayupa smashing electronics in fury and anger, the Jentarana no longer under his control.

Out of the face of the Jentarana, followed by trails of blue lightning, came the ghost figure of Skind Kjoil, clad in black, leaping down onto the ground in front of Skar. After recuperating for a moment, with lightning lashing out from his body, the ghastly Knight looked up at Skar, his featureless eyes glaring down upon Skar. Skind Kjoil looked more like a prisoner than he had in the temple, more dark than even Skar's worst imaginations could have been.

The shock overtook Skar's nerves and he slumped down on the ground, just as Skind Kjoil raised his fist to the sky.

"_At last!" _

The cry was ear-deafening, so inhuman that Skind sounded like a god screaming down from the heavens, screaming for liberation. Skar held his ears trying to block out the horrid sound. Then Skind looked down at him, those warm, strong eyes looked right down into him.

"Not many are as cursed as I am to have _three _lives." Skind looked back up at the Jentarana behind him, its body frozen in time. He held out his palm, the way a wrangler would calm a wild beast. "Should I kill him…or do you want to?"

"Don't…" Skar spoke, softly.

Skind lowered his palm again. "Fine then. With the Jentarana out of commission, my last link to this life has been severed. My spirit is free. And I owe that to you, nephew."

Skind walked over and knelt down beside him. All Skar could do was concentrate on not fainting. Or falling apart. Skar couldn't help wonder if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but somehow he felt calm inside when his famous uncle sat beside him, a sense of peace between them, the way you felt around family.

"I am not special," Skind said bluntly, addressing Skar's thoughts, "I was a normal man with common thoughts, and I've lived the same life that everyone else has been given. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will someday be forgotten." Skind looked over at the crippled Jentarana, a smile growing on his face, seeing his life flash before his inner eye, seeing how it all ended now at this moment. Seeing the things that had made life worthwhile.

"But I've loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, nephew, that has always been enough."

Behind Skind Kjoil, roaring in agonizing terror, the Jentarana opened its jaws, reared its head up into the sky, and a small pod exploded from it mouth shooting into the sky.

"I've spared his life. His fate is now yours to decide."

Skar stared at the object flaming across the sky.

_An escape pod?_

Skind Kjoil's distant, mesmerized gaze grew as he started walking towards the Jentarana. Seemingly in some forbidden state of ecstasy. When he stood at its feet, he flung out his arms, threw his head back and laughed.

"_Selia! I'm coming!" _

With a giant flare of light, Skind Kjoil vanished from life, a lightning where he'd once stood. A sharp pain ran across Skar's heart as he felt the fabric of the Force being ripped at. Not only ripped at, but sliced open and his empowering guidance faded for a second, leaving him exhausted without the help of the Force, only to reenter him tenfold.

_Just like Master Bo-Hi told me it happened when Skind died, the first time. The Force acknowledges his death with sorrow. _

Only this time it felt forced, it didn't feel as serious as Master Bo-Hi had described. Once the initial shock wore off, Skar watched the Jentarana stand frozen solid above him. Only then did Skar hear the sound. A low rumbling coming from inside the Jentarana's belly.

_A self-destruct system!_

The world turned white, then black, then into nothingness.

* * *

_When they found me I was just an infant. A dirty little orphan. A baby screaming in the backdrop of the investigation. After Skind had taken his own life, the Republic ran their technicians and investigators all over the temple on Kryuu. _

_Your mother sat in a corner, your father was there too, comforting her. Master Bo-Hi was there, with the Jedi Council. Then they found me in the remote hangar. Crying inside Skind Kjoil's ship. No one knew how or why I was created. It was your mother who identified me. She knew who I was. I was just a baby but she saw it in my eyes. Your father didn't want to believe it. _

Skar felt his body being dragged across sand, scrapping his knees and hands on rocks as he went, but he didn't care. His head felt like a detonator had gone off inside it. And he was only faintly aware of the fist clutching the fabric of his suit by the neck, dragging him along.

_Your mother didn't want anything to do with me, and of course neither did Koll. I was an abomination, a disgrace to Skind Kjoil. Now that I think about it, your mother was pregnant with you at the time. I guess that was kinda our first meeting. I ain't that much older than you. _

Skar continued to feel his body being dragged over the ground. His arms felt numb. His legs were lagging behind him like the tentacles of a squid. He wished for sleep more than anything. His body was aching for rest, rest Skar knew he couldn't supply it just yet. Constant hammering pounded his aching head, driving him insane. More than anything else he just wanted to lay over on his side and sleep, dream himself away from this life.

_Then Master Bo-Hi came over and took a look at me. He suggested that I be kept a secret. Only the Jedi Council, your parents and Master Bo-Hi knew about me. It was kept hidden from all others who I infact was; the scourge of the Jedi. A copy of their greatest failure. A failed copy of a failed man. But Master Bo-Hi insisted that he took me far away, somewhere no one would ever find me. _

_Don't you see, Skar, he wanted to dispose of me. Just like all the others. I was not meant to live. The gods cursed me from the day I was ever created. _

_My life is borrowed._

Skar felt no sympathy, only fragments of hatred he couldn't piece together to actually produce the real emotion. He was in mid-emotion, feeling nothing and feeling everything. The dragging continued and Skar still felt the hand pulling him by his collar. Like a dog on a leash.

_So he took me to Shalasha, hoping that fate would kill me off there. Master Bo-Hi was ordered to stay there until he was sure I was dead. Then the day of the revolt came and I got into trouble, Master Bo-Hi must have won a heart in a contest or something along the years, because he saved me and took me back to Kryuu, where he began training me as a Jedi. _

_Then during the Purge the Jedi Council was wiped out, and he was no longer under order to kill me. He raised me and kept my identity hidden from me. _

Skar tried reaching out to the Force but hit only a thick wall. He was too weak to reach it, it lingered somewhere in the distance, mocking him with his poor control. Skar felt the weakness conquer him until he was suddenly dropped down hard on the ground. He didn't even bother to look where he was, he just relished lying still.

_That was why I killed him. If he wanted to be the father to me that he pretended to be, he should have told me before. He stole my birthright, my very existence, he took everything from me. It was only fair I returned the favor. _

Something kicked Skar in the rips and he opened his eyes in shock. Soliton was stretching out before him. Nearby he could see the crater very close. Infact he was lying on the edge of it. Skar tried pushing himself up on his elbows but failed.

"Come now, Skar. The circle is almost complete. Get up. You still have one more choice to make."

Skar was pulled to his feet, and through blackness, felt his feet ghost-walking across the ground until they suddenly went out of ground.

Skar peeled his eyes open. Below he could see the crater, now magnified a great deal due to the Jentarana's self-destruct. Skar had trouble seeing the bottom. It was only then he realized that Kayupa must have saved him in the blast. The same Kayupa who now stood before him on the ledge, holding him by the throat over the abyss.

Kayupa was still wearing his gray pants, his chest dripping with perspiration. Kayupa's long dark hair was tightly kept in place by the bandana. His gritty beard had patches of blood in it. The wounds on his chest and shoulder were healed, but colored oddly purple.

Skar managed to open his mouth. "Kayupa? Are you a god? If you are … death is gonna suck…"

Kayupa grinned. "Now that you've destroyed the Jentarana your uncle has been freed. Yet I still remain, with his emotions, his fear and his hatred. His Sith legacy passed on to me. You may have saved Skind Kjoil's spirit, but _I _am still very much alive."

Skar grabbed the hand holding him, afraid to fall into the depths below. Skar screamed in agony, not pain, to rid him of the inner turmoil that was engulfing everything he knew about the Force, life, Kayupa and love.

It didn't work.

Kayupa held out his hand to point at something. "Look!"

Skar followed the hand and saw Shinran lying close by. Her eyes were closed and he could tell she was unconscious. Mentally he thanked Kayupa, through all his evils, that he had saved her.

"She's still alive. But you decide whether or not she stays that way."

Skar held on as best as he could, feeling Kayupa's fingers squeeze around his throat. "What is it you want from me? I did what you wanted. The Jentarana is gone."

In front of him Kayupa's mouth formed into a hideous smile. "I want you motivated. I want…my peace." Kayupa kicked a small pebble over the side and it bounced off Skar before it fell into the darkness. "You have to let go of the past in order to reach your future. That's why you're still clinging, because you're afraid. I'm holding you back. You must set me free. You're the only one who can, after all. I refuse to die without a fight, and the only one who can beat me is you."

Skar knew he was right, he knew that the Force was showing him the only real choice he had left. To kill Kayupa would let him live, but it would be a memory more painful than anything else to live it. He wasn't sure he would be able to live knowing he had done so. Despite all Kayupa's failings, he was the one who had gotten Skar this far. His inspiration.

Skar's voice was frail and pleading. "Stay with me." Skar's hand couldn't hang on much longer. "You can still save yourself, brother."

Kayupa spat. "You ignorant fool. Don't you see? I have to make amends. Skind Kjoil murdered thousands. Their souls deserve retribution. This isn't about me anymore. Its about them. Its about our heritage, yours and mine. I brought you this far, taught you all I knew. Now you have to use what I've taught you, to unmake me. There can be no other way."

Skar couldn't. He couldn't do it. He didn't want to. He didn't want to live knowing what he'd done. Slowly but surely it came to him, that he didn't have to live with it.

Skar took a deep breath. "If you really want to die - "

Kayupa's own lightsaber unclipped itself from his belt.

" - we'll die _together_!"

In midair the blade lit powered up, twirled the blue beam around itself and pierced straight down through the ledge him and Kayupa were standing on. They both heard and saw the rock ledge begin to crack as the lightsaber had created a soft spot in its construction. The last three feet of it, holding both Skar and Kayupa, began to break apart.

Kayupa began to back off to save himself, but Skar held on to Kayupa's hand under his throat and tightened his grip while he pressed his feet against the rock wall and pushed outwards, pulling Kayupa over the edge. Kayupa felt him pulling him down. Skar continued to push, pushing himself further away from the ledge into certain death, but at least Kayupa would join him.

Skar had never felt so confident about any choice. This was right.

"You're coming with me…_brother!_"

Kayupa lost his footing and giving Skar a betrayed glance he fell over the side of ledge into the chasm below. Skar followed, their bodies still interlocked. Together they swirled into the crater, holding onto each other for help. With the ledge falling out of view, them both falling inevitably to their doom, Skar reached inside Kayupa's mind. The two clutched to each other for some useless effort to save themselves. Kayupa smiled, and for a moment he looked like the old Kayupa, the friend. Air rushed by them, only seconds away from death

Kayupa glanced down at the oncoming crater-floor. His bandana and long hair trailed behind him as he closed his eyes.

_Its not over yet._

The two went entangled down into the blackness. Together they charged into oblivion.

* * *

Skar found that in the darkness of the Force laid also a resting place for the soul to unwind. A place where aggressions could linger, recharge, unfold. A place where hate was the fuel of his passions. A place where fear was dragged into the light, kicking and screaming, to face its demise in the brightness of the sun. It was true that the Kjoil had abilities to stay on the side of good even when acting out with hate or fear, the calling cards of the Dark Side, but to cross over to Sith was irreversible. To turn Sith was to turn forever into evil. There was no redemption. 

While Skar had no intentions of doing so, he found unmatched pleasure in swirling through the negativity of the soul.

At first it was just a whisper, a voice within voices. Emotions within emotions. Thoughts that seemed to lead one way shifted direction. Skar listened to them in his head, as he found himself inside a meditative state of near-death, listening for answers. They spoke in gentle tones, non-hostile, non-threatening.

Skar responded to them in the Force and a transaction of strength and harmony was made between him and the voices.

Skar cut the connection then began diving toward the light at the bottom of the black well. It was a feeling of peace and communication, a feeling of belonging. Skar had never known the Force to have this effect. It was close to meditation only here he could talk to others imbedded in the Force. Like a central for past spirits and ghosts abandoned by life.

Skar tore into the hole, bringing with him new energy and new resolution. Skar felt the Force calling to him, like the voices, as if it made one last attempt at bringing him back. He shook his head, and tried to block it out. It continued to reach out to him, and he knew he couldn't ignore it for long.

But Kayupa was out there somewhere, still alive, and he had to be stopped. Kayupa's darkness matched Skar's determination, and he only hoped that he could find some way of rectifying the wrongs. If ever he and Shinran were to have a future, then Kayupa would have to be out of the picture. And Skar was prepared to rise to the challenge.

The light came closer.

Skar opened his eyes to find himself in another world. The twin explosions had made the lower crater look like a street surrounded by diamond teeth instead of a bomb site. Super sharp and diamond-shaped rock-formations stretched high wherever he looked. The gray rock spears protruded through the ground and stretched on up to the sky, which Skar had difficulty seeing anymore.

He could spot a low source of light among the dust clouds that he knew to be the sun, but there was no sign of anything else.

As he began walking slowly down the street of rock stalactites he looked at his current weapon of choice, Kayupa's blue lightsaber, and tightened his grip. He could feel Shinran somewhere but wasn't sure where. She was alive, and that was all that mattered. She was also awake but he couldn't get a fixed position on her.

Skar snarled in anger.

_The silence gets us nowhere, Kayupa. Don't hide from me._

Skar knew Kayupa was in there somewhere hiding in this labyrinth. Skar could feel him drawing on the Force to refresh his body and mind. Skar could feel him moving around in the crater. But the thought of not knowing where he was, made Skar tighten both hands around the lightsaber's hilt.

Carried by the wind through the millions of caves came Kayupa's voice like a whisper.

_My supposed brother…_

Skar startled at first and then looked everywhere to find the source of his voice. There was no trace of him. Skar could imagine Kayupa's feelings being more and more pushed to the limit of insanity. The instability in him already was very dangerous. Skar felt a wave of sorrow channeled through the Force crash into him, making his heart sink.

A more violent wave came, and pounded him with a thousand curses and words of regret. Skar closed his eyes and tried his best to block the pain, but the Force wouldn't block the wave of hate. Kayupa was nowhere in sight.

Instead of the sorrow and fear, there was now only the thunder of rage. It echoed Kayupa's words through the cave, as it echoed inside the Force.

For some reason he didn't know, he felt more and more like he was in unfamiliar territory, not just physically but also spiritually. He knew that Kayupa was a man who would only bring devastation and horror to the Galaxy if he persisted in living. But Kayupa didn't persist in living. He wanted to die. He wanted to be free of his mortal coils, but for as long as Skar could remember he had followed the man's words, listened to them with interest. He'd idolized Kayupa so much that a part of him wished he was the man himself.

How was he supposed to destroy the man he was trying to live up to? How could he kill that invincibility he wanted for himself?

Then Kayupa spoke, his voice bouncing off the walls of crater. "Your idolization will be your coffin."

Skar checked every corner he passed but there was nothing there. "What?" he said aloud.

"Devoting one's life to something not discovered by your own mind, is ignorance. Its too easy to hatch on to a belief or an idea constructed by someone else, easier than it is to be original. To discover your own views. Idolization, no matter how you look at it, is a form of love. Devotion to a religion or an idea is akin to the love you'd have for a woman. If the religion is proved fallible, you break. If the woman is not what you'd built her up to be in your own fantasy, you break."

"I believed in _you_," Skar muttered under his breath, still searching for the source of Kayupa's voice, his preaching.

"You shouldn't believe in something that isn't your own idea. Don't settle for an easy answer about faith. If the subject of religion or faith really bothers you that much, at least give it the time and effort it deserves. If you don't care more for it than to take the easiest and quickest answer, then don't even bother."

Skar wiped sweat from his brows, tightened his hands around the lightsaber again, not sure what Kayupa was trying to tell him.

"No one can force you to find a faith that already exists and settle for less than what you feel. The important thing is what you feel, what you think, what you believe to be right. You don't even have to call it a religion. People treat religion like its supposed to mean they're better people, but most of the times they're just hiding their own insecurity behind something they think will protect them. The only ones they deceive are themselves. What people don't see is that you don't need a chapel, or an altar, or anything, other than what is in your heart. Its what you feel inside, that determines your level of commitment. Religion is not about walking into a church, or a temple. Its about taking a walk inside yourself."

Skar felt alone. Kayupa was right. Skar had been influenced way too easily by Kayupa's strength. All his life he'd looked to Kayupa's example to find an answer to whatever problem he found. Nothing he'd done had been his own. Kayupa himself was continuing to grow more Kjoil than Jedi to accent his genetic heritage. His words of spiritual freedom was that of a Kjoil, a true Jedi would never consider taking up other beliefs than that of the Force. A Kjoil was free to explore other faiths.

"What are you trying to say? What is it I need to do?"

"All you need…is an idea, something that seems right to you. Something you believe others might need to hear. It doesn't have to be the meaning of life, or how to make a better environment. It can be anything. Life isn't about finding out your purpose. That would take away the fun of being alive. What we can do, is find something that makes life more interesting. The meaning of life is not going to be found in our lifetime, brother. What kind of a world would it be if we actually knew the secrets behind it? Who's to say we'd like it?"

Kayupa laughed at his own clever words. "But whatever you find, whatever you want to believe in, whatever idea you have, don't let anyone take that from you. It doesn't matter what other people think, or how impossible your goal may seem. You're the only one who can decide whether or not its doable, by giving it all the faith it needs to be achieved. If all we do are reactions of something else, intellectually and spiritually we become slaves. You're the only one who can make an idea into reality. How much faith you give, determines its success. Look at your own life, you've been through some horrible events, Lwen's death, Master Bo-Hi, Skind…even _me_, but your faith, your dedication has kept you alive."

Kayupa's voice grew more dark, the anger back in his tone. "Now its time to live up to your responsibility as a Jedi, its time to prove your faith in the Force. Soon I'll be gone from this world, leaving you behind to fight. But first you must destroy me. I've trained you for this moment. This is your final test." Kayupa's voice was light, haunting. "Sever the tie that binds you to me, brother. _Free _me. You're the only one who can. Let go of the past and take your first step into the future. You have missions to fulfill, and that's I've trained you for. To be a soldier, a warrior. A man who knows the difference between right and wrong, a man who knows when to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Sacrifice _me_."

As much as it hurt to consider, Skar acknowledged the idea. At least then it would be his own act - Skar sighed. No, it wouldn't. Again it was Kayupa's will, his words. Not Skar's own idea. Nothing made sense anymore.

"Humans are more than living flesh wishing for better. We are meant for something grander. Some worship the Force, for the power and purpose it gives them." Kayupa chuckled, signifying he did not believe in that. "And some fall in love, worshiping that love, giving whatever is needed, whatever must be sacrificed."

Skar's boots crushed stones beneath them. The cave loomed huge all around him, there were hundreds of little alcoves and small perches where Kayupa could hide.

"Follow your own dreams, Skar, not mine. I know you will find your way through it. So that you and Shinran can be together…that is your war, Skar."

Skar was getting sick of the charade. Seeking a way to end this game, he reached out to the Force. Closing his eyes he turned off his senses one by one, allowing only the Force to show him what was really happening around him. The ground faded, then the canyon walls, and eventually everything else. The world around him became darkness, but there was one light shining through; Kayupa's presence.

It surprised Skar to find that Kayupa was not in front nor behind him. Nor was he to his left or right. Skar's connection to the Force became a two-way link as the Force in turn touched him.

Warning him.

Skar rolled forward as a lightsaber, Master Bo-Hi's green, carved straight down into the ground where he had stood a second earlier. Skar came back up and turned around, his blue blade now alive and protecting him from Kayupa who stood on the ground before him.

The green blade slid out of the ground and Kayupa smiled as he twirled the lightsaber in his hand. "You're faster than I thought." Kayupa gestured to Skar's arm. "But you're bleeding."

Skar looked down. A stripe of red was painted across his right wrist. He must have cut himself on the sharp rocks as he rolled. Skar tightened his left hand around it, trying to stop the blood. Skar looked up to see if Kayupa was gonna take advantage of his momentarily weak condition. He wouldn't put it past him.

"I want this to be fair." Kayupa said as he crouched down and shut off his blade. He placed the lightsaber in his lap and closed his eyes. "This is a Jedi's fight. We are creatures of honor. You deserve a battle."

Skar frowned at him, though he did feel grateful. He switched off his lightsaber and pulled out a small medpack which he kept in his belt.

"Take all the time you need, my brother." Kayupa oozed with darkness.

Skar began bandaging his wrist while stretching out to the Force, for strength. He kept a good eye on Kayupa as he tightened the bandage on his wound.

"You have really improved your skills with the telekinesis," Kayupa mocked, a frosty smile on his lips, "thank you for saving my neck."

Skar frowned again and even let out a small laugh. "Don't thank me, Kayupa. Thank _life _and it's sick sense of humor." The reason why fate had chosen to spare Kayupa's life, as well as his own, eluded Skar. Skar had managed to break the fall with the Force and Kayupa must have tagged along.

But even as he'd said the words to Kayupa he began to feel something familiar, maybe it was Kayupa or maybe just the surroundings but something had definitely clicked inside him. Skar's eyes locked on the lightsaber in Kayupa's lap.

A lightsaber with a green blade.

_The dream I had on Nar Shaddaa two years ago, fighting on that cliff. _Skar shook his head in silent understanding, while tightening his bandage._ Kayupa. It was Kayupa the Force was warning me about. I see it all now. The man in the dream had a green lightsaber, I thought that the threat would come from Master Bo-Hi. But he was never a threat. _Skar felt his heart tighten and his breath became shallow. _This moment has been waiting for me. _

Kayupa smiled as he had done in the dream; all teeth and glaring eyes of hate.

_I've dreamt this. I've seen this happen. I've seen what happens. _Skar reached up to his face, and realized his face would look exactly the way it did in the rain-puddle in the dream. The tattoos on the hands, the hair, the light beard he'd grown since they'd left Kryuu, everything matched.

_I couldn't escape it. I must do this. It would be wrong of me not to follow this moment through. _Skar took hold of the lightsaber, tightening both hands on the hilt. _I have no choice; I have no will. I have to trust that for some reason the Force wants this moment to take place._

Skar circled his thumb over the ignition-switch twice then pushed down. The blue blade ignited him in its warm light, humming like a waiting serpent, and he took his defense-stance. Skar closed his eyes and opened himself up. The Force flooded through him and awakened his weary mind and body. Feeling refreshed he opened his eyes and smiled at Kayupa, though the smile was just a mask.

_I have to accept that I have no choice._

Kayupa too readied himself for combat, the man rose from his crouch, ignited his own lightsaber, the green blade snapping to life in his hands, the tails of his bandana flowing on a slight breeze.

Skar looked up to the sky and noticed the sun glaring down upon them like the maker of fate watching if events transpired as it wanted them too. Slowly the sun moved down towards the horizon. Skar could feel the gigantic mass moving through space. But even the sun couldn't remove the darkness that had come over them, in their hearts.

He sighed. "Damn you, Kayupa. Damn you for not having the strength in your heart to fight it. You were my friend...Damn you for making me do this."

Kayupa was infuriated. "Damn _you_! You and your entire family. I never asked to be part of you, I _never _asked for this. At least live up to your heritage and _kill _me! Or give up ever being free!"

Skar clenched his hands around the hilt, cocked a cold smile.

"What are friends for?"

Skar was upon him in seconds. Filled with hate Skar swooped his blade down from a high arc and Kayupa parried slowly. Too possessed with his newfound hate for Kayupa Skar didn't think to change his tactic, he merely raised his blade again, striking down hard as he'd done before, this time only to hit dirt as Kayupa rolled away from the second attack. Skar turned around, facing Kayupa again, both them shielded behind their glowing blades.

Skar rolled sideways to his right as Kayupa attacked, and coming out of the roll he immediately leapt high up, cushioned by the Force. In midair he threw out the lightsaber, sending it whirling towards Kayupa. It struck once, twice, thrice, and then returned to his waiting hand the second he landed back on his feet.

Skar rushed forward, his hilt swinging in circles on the tips of his fingers. Kayupa ran at him too, but leapt above Skar at the last minute, executed a flip and landed perfectly on the other side of Skar, who rolled forward to avoid any hits from behind. Skar pivoted on his knee as he came out of his roll and raised his blade again to defend himself as Kayupa pushed forward and struck down with his green blade at Skar's face.

Skar blocked and Kayupa spun his saber in a circle over his head as he backpedaled, the blade ended pointing at Skar.

The two attacked each other sending sparks and cracks from their weapons. Skar lunged for a high attack, striking down on top of the green blade. then he spun right and attacked low, then pivoted back to his original position and lunged at the back of his foe.

_Just like in the dream._

The green blade parried and thrust away his blade. Kayupa spun full circle and struck at Skar in a cut that would have decapitated him if he hadn't ducked. Like lightning Skar rolled across the ground, but came out of the roll slicing his blue blade through nothing but empty air as Kayupa leapt above the cut, then dived in close and struck at Skar's shoulder. Skar parried and moved into Kayupa's inner circle of defense and landed a fist on his throat.

Kayupa heaved for air and backed off, playing out his allotted part. Then he wiped away the sweat from his eyes and glared at Skar. Kayupa advanced again, this time raining blows upon Skar's blade and finally kicking him in the side of his pelvis. As it had done before, a jolt of pain shot through his back and Skar fell over, his face drowning in dust.

_Just like the dream._

He waited for the lightning to strike down in the back of his thigh but it never came. Skar rolled over, curious as to why things hadn't happened the way they should. Skar took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and relied on the currents of the Force. He found no answer as to why he hadn't been killed as he had in the dream, but rather than distracting himself from battle by thinking too much, Skar decided to explore this new territory. Skar could feel the Force guiding him, touching him, and moving him where it wanted him to be, and it wasn't on the ground biting dust.

It was on his feet, fighting Kayupa.

As he got up, Kayupa circled and pounded his green blade on top of Skar, who brushed the blade aside with his own. Kayupa recovered and went for another attack, which failed also. Every detail and aspect of the moment moved through Skar, and even before he could think of a strike, he'd already executed it. Skar was fast, faster than ever as he pushed his way through each of Kayupa's parries.

Kayupa was weary.

Skar was just getting started.

Skar stabbed his blade forward, only to have it pushed away. Kayupa lunged, but Skar sidestepped and the man went past him, but came around fast enough to block Skar's swipe at his back. Skar wove through the blades and slammed his saber down at the back of Kayupa's leg, but the man blocked that too by reverting his blade behind him.

But Skar still managed to land a kick on his back and pushed Kayupa forwards, stumbling as he went. Skar crashed his blade down on Kayupa's with all the strength he'd found in his hate for Kayupa, and Kayupa managed to parry it, but only barely. Skar could see the effort on Kayupa's face, the man was not too confident about his abilities to parry another blow like that.

Skar _loved _that look on his face.

Skar retracted, swung his blade left, smashing his blade against Kayupa's again, their blades entwined for a second. Full of anger, Skar pulled his weapon free and swirled, his blade following the motion. Kayupa ducked beneath it easily and then lunged fiercely at Skar's side, but coming through the revolution Skar parried it at the other side.

Their blades entwined, their hands touching as they pushed at each other, Skar moved slightly forward, his boot landing on Kayupa's kneecap. He kicked outward, twisting the knee back at a very unnatural angle.

Kayupa cried out in terrible agony, a betrayed look on his twisted face as he fell down on one knee, his one leg useless beneath him. With Kayupa on his knees, crying in anguish, Skar ran up to him, used a nearby rock as a leverage to jump and to land a powerful kick in Kayupa's chest, flattening the weakened man on the ground.

Currents of anger roared inside Skar, their hateful gales like waves as he came around, eager to punish Kayupa more, eager for the man to die in a ways that would make a mortician sick. Kayupa lifted his blade up pathetically to defend himself. Skar slammed his blade into Kayupa's, nearly ripping the hand off with sheer power, cocked his wrist and wrestled the lightsaber from Kayupa's hands, finishing off with a strong kick to Kayupa's stomach, causing the man to vomit black blood over the ground next to him.

Kayupa cried inaudibly for mercy, but there was no none who would grant him that. Skar's anger was still not sated.

Far from it.

"Get _up_!" Skar shouted, wanting to hurt Kayupa more. Wanting the man to stand so he could tear him down. "What's the matter, Kayupa! Does it _hurt_!"

He didn't know if the man could hear him, Kayupa was already crying at the top of his lungs, seemingly lost in his own pain.

"You think that's _pain_! I'll show you pain!"

Skar tightened his hands around the hilt, reverted his blade and struck down. But the blade stopped in midair. One inch above Kayupa's right eye socket. Kayupa couldn't move, he could only cough up the blood, and try not to let the waves of pain washing over him make him twitch, not wanting to puncture his face on the blade.

"Kill me," he pleaded, "_please! _I can't take this anymore!"

Skar's hissing breath and gritted teeth portrayed a container of anger unlike anything Kayupa had even dared to touch. Skar knew Kayupa was taunting him, tempting him to kill him, and Skar found it strangely comfortable.

"Its you…or _me_, brother."

Skar felt the Dark Side tempting him, begging for this allegiance.

Kayupa laid out flat, holding out his chest as a clear target. "Bury me when I'm gone."

Skar's teeth ached as he lifted his blade up over his head, preparing to strike down and kill Kayupa once and for all, revenging his Master, revenging Shinran, and bringing an end to the evil that Kayupa had swept over their lives. To kill his inspiration, to surpass him, to destroy him, to finally rid himself of his last idol and stand victorious as the greatest of them all. It was his duty.

His responsibility.

"You were an inspiration for me, Kayupa - "

Skar turned off the blue blade.

" - for the way that I'll never ever be." Skar staggered back, weary from the drain of the Dark Side. He felt it eating at his heart. He couldn't kill Kayupa. He could feel the Sith ghosts lustfully watching him, praying he would step over to their side. He hadn't been aware of it before, but it occurred to him that the Sith had been watching him all along.

"This is my choice. I know I can't have our friendship back, things can't go back the way they were, but if I kill you, it will never have been at all. Like me, Kayupa, you'll take the hard road. To live, to grow, to learn. To be scared and to do what it takes to move through it the hard way. The _right_ way. I don't care what your genes tell you, but you're going to live with it." Skar panted. "And so am I."

Kayupa sat up, staring curiously at his friend.

Skar's breathing was heavy, his brows dripping with perspiration, his hair soaked. His mind felt like a giant blur, he could barely hold on to his sanity anymore, but somewhere he knew he was doing the right thing. He was tired of living through others. For once he would break the curse, make his own decision, no matter what it implied.

Maybe Kayupa deserved to die, maybe his existence was unnatural and harmful to the world, but Skar didn't care. This was his friend, no matter what he had done Skar wanted to preserve that feeling in his heart.

Kayupa called his blade to his hand, rising up slowly on his good leg in a last desperate attack on the weak Skar. Kayupa had to drag his leg behind him, supporting himself with the Force as he limped across the ground. The green blade snapped to life over Skar, bathing him in its light as Kayupa moved in for the kill.

Seeing Kayupa coming at him, the green blade meant to kill him, Skar closed his eyes and threw away his blue lightsaber. Accepting his fate at the hands of Kayupa.

_Just like the dream. _

The strangest thing happened. Kayupa stopped and turned to look behind him, receiving a booted kick in the nose and a second kick removed the green lightsaber from his hands. A hand grabbed Kayupa by the collar and pulled him in tight. Kayupa was pinned with his back pressed against the spectator. The spectator's left hand held Kayupa in place, holding his throat in a tight grip. The second hand reached across Kayupa's chest and Skar's unlit blue lightsaber hilt flew through the air to land in the opened hand. The hand turned the hilt around and held it against the skin over Kayupa's heart.

Kayupa managed to let out a growl as he found himself defenseless. "No!"

Skar looked mystified, as Shinran now held Kayupa in an iron-grip, clueless as to how she'd been able to call the lightsaber to her hand, she was not a Jedi. Skar worked on getting to his feet but his body was stripped of all strength. Skar held out his hand to try and comfort them both.

Kayupa squirmed under her hold. "Shinran, no, don't, you don't know - "

Shinran's voice was merely a whisper. "This …needs to be done, Skar" she stared at nothing, "neither of us…matter more than you." There was a careless finality in her words that sent shudders through Skar's heart. She looked over at him, and Skar saw the painful sadness in her eyes and he saw the fear, and the resolution.

The necessity.

With the lightsaber held over Kayupa's chest, if ignited, the blade would be long enough to piece through her behind Kayupa as well. Skar felt like time stood still, and he dragged himself across the ground to reach her, hoping to save the one thing in his life that made it beautiful, the only one he'd ever loved, the one that _was _his life.

"No!" Skar screamed.

"Fate arranged for us to meet, Skar." She closed her eyes, drawing her face away from him, her voice heartbroken. "I love you so much...but Kayupa is right," she sobbed and her voice buckled under her emotions, "I would only get in your way."

The lightsaber bloomed.

One second he could feel her presence clear as day, a radiant shine within him, one that felt even more powerful than the Force. A warm center around all his dreams and his hopes. The thing that kept him going, the one that kept him motivated. The one that shone through all the darkness in his life and the one that lived in his soul.

But the next second that part of him was torn out, ripped from his heart and a hollow unnatural loneliness was all that remained, a bitter taste of loss in his mouth. For an instant no sound existed in the world, except the hiss-snap of the lightsaber as it ignited. Skar heard the tear of flesh and the burning of clothing.

And he heard Kayupa scream in agony, his dying scream. Shinran never said a word or made a sound.

The entire crater began swirling in a Force-storm, demanding the spirits of those two dead, and Skar felt the wind pulling him closer to its center. He grabbed onto a rock that stabbed up through the ground like a pyramid and pulled himself in tight, as the Force took Kayupa and Shinran from him.

"No!"

Skar managed to scream across the wind. His fingers began to slip and he felt the Force tearing into him, invading every fiber of him and filling his mind with the sensation of death. The sensation of agony. The sensation of pain. Looking back, feeling every touch of the Dark Side in him being blown to the wind, he caught glimpses of Shinran's lightning figure, it seemed she was on fire, a blinding light was burning from her skin and Skar couldn't dare look at it. Like an inferno in the middle of a supernova, its light fading under a much greater light.

Lightning struck down through Skar, drowning out the millions of complaints, words of regret and sorrows he felt in that moment. Realizing the sacrifice Shinran had made for him to reach his destiny. Giving herself because she loved him that much. Skar screamed inside the whirlwind, inside his own chaotic understanding of it all. As thankful as he was, he didn't accept it. Skar's heart was shattered in two as the Force surged through him, letting him for one last time feel Shinran's kiss on his lips, before she was whisked away into its brilliance.

Then the wind calmed down. One thought occupied his mind, blotting out the aches and the stinging from his cuts and bruises. Skar jogged to where Shinran laid, as quickly as his battered body would allow him. He knelt down next to her and rolled her onto her back and slipped his arms underneath her to lift her up and lean her against his knee.

Shinran's head rolled limply over to one side.

Skar stopped, not believing what he had just seen, noticing now that she was cold and completely motionless in his arms.

"Shinran?" Skar called. The hope in his voice had faded away. "_Shinran_?"

He felt the heavy, hollow feeling deep inside of him grow and his throat tied itself in a knot. His mind was blank. Cold and hot anger rose up in a tide all over him. Skar knew what he was wishing for would be nothing short of miracle but still he gave it every ounce of hope he had.

"Shinran, no. You can't be …"

Then it came, the moment of realization creeping up his spine like ivy. His cry echoed over the plains of Soliton like the death-scream of a wounded animal, echoing against hundreds of surfaces, magnifying and seemingly living forever in the crevasses all over the world, never to be heard by anyone, never to meet sympathy. The leaden feeling grew. Empty. Skar could feel his heart sink down. The wave of anger returned again, much stronger and more violent. Skar didn't want to accept it, he couldn't. He didn't know what else to do. What could he do? The training and all of the fighting he'd seen hadn't prepared him for this.

"_Shinran!_" Skar yelled out loud, throwing his head back. His cry echoed down the hillside, well after he had stopped. Guilt came crashing down on him. Skar felt his throat tighten up again. He couldn't say anything; the words stuck and wouldn't come out. The deep void reached down into the pit of his stomach, the realization of her death made him feel queasy, and his head spun, still full of jumbled words, pictures and moods.

Skar put Shinran down gently, and let his head fall back down. He looked down at her and closed his eyes. _Why? _he thought. Skar carried on, turning it over and over in his mind. _It was my fault_, Skar thought reluctantly. He opened his eyes and saw Shinran again. _Shinran died because of me. _Skar mustered up the strength to say what he wanted out loud. "Forgive me," he gently said in a low voice.

Skar hung his head away from Shinran, rested his other arm on his knee and supported himself on his right arm. His hand throbbed from hitting the hard ground. Skar shuddered in bitterness. Trying to make sense of everything that buzzed inside his head. He couldn't bring himself to look at her. Skar didn't want her to see him feeling so miserable and looking so broken. Skar continued to put himself through this ordeal, blaming himself solely for Shinran's death.

This was the reality of it and not like on the holodramas where the hero always rescues the girl and they go off into the sunset to whatever happy life that followed. Whatever future he had planned for him and her, belonged solely to the past.

"I wasn't able to protect you," he choked back his heartache. He looked at Shinran. He knew that there was no one there to answer the questions in his head. "Shinran, I'm sorry…forgive me." he implored and lowered his head down again.

Almost instantly Shinran began to lose shape, form and existence. Before his eyes she melted away into small twinkling stars that twirled around him, hovering silently to the sky. Skar felt Shinran fading from life, perhaps going to a better place. Skar looked down at his hands, Shinran's body was gone, taken by the Force.

And before he could begin to understand why, someone was calling out to him.

"Brother!"

Skar turned on his knees, tears streaming down his face, his teeth clenching in anger at what he saw behind him. Walking very slowly towards Skar, still supporting his broken knee with the Force, the dying Kayupa held his hand to his chest, holding onto the lightsaber that was still impaled through his chest, blue light sticking out of his back a final evidence that death was coming.

Then he looked back up at Skar with his smug, but broken, smile already in place. "I never meant for it to be this way, brother. I never wanted…to break up the family. I can't make it up to you," his voice broken and filled with regret. "Remember, Skar, always listen to your heart." Kayupa's leg bent awkwardly underneath him and he fell to his knees. "Our fates are for us to decide, we are not sons of destiny." Kayupa sat there on his knees, clutching his wound, a calm silent understanding in that smile on his pale lips. A clarity washed over his face. "Don't cry for us."

Only then did Skar feel the tears running down his cheeks. The endless stream of water that he knew was not only devoted to Shinran's fleeing spirit into the Force but also to Kayupa who was now at the brink of death.

Skar wiped away his last tear. "You got what you wanted," Skar said softly, "and I have no tears left to spare."

Nodding once, Kayupa's eyes died and his body slumped over, the lightsaber in his chest flickering before bursting into flames, short-circuiting itself. As Kayupa caught on fire, the burning corpse laid on a desolate planet of the Galaxy the man had once so feverishly sought to save.

* * *

Skar Kjoil felt the tickling sensation, then the cool liquid that surrounded him. Fearing he was drowning he flared his arms and legs around, only to bang them against surfaces. Slippery surfaces. His hands and legs moved slower than he was used to. Something obstructed them. He felt like he was swimming, only then to open his eyes and see that he, in a way, was. 

The bacta rejuvenation tank held him in place, slowly repairing his body. A nose-plug and air support was thrust over his mouth so he wouldn't drown. He waved his hands back and forth, finding odd fun in moving around. The liquid worked over his body treating and healing his wounds. Bacta was applied in a solution of synthetic fluid that mimicked the body's own vital liquids. Skar found himself immersed in the bacta tank, captured like a prisoner.

The gelatinous, translucent red water acted as bacterial medium. It was a construction to heal patients from serious wounds and Skar found it to be much like his ability to use the Force to heal himself. Only this way it required no effort from him other than to relax and let the liquid do its job. The bacta encouraged regeneration and tissue growth to rapidly heal his wounds and cuts without causing scarring.

Skar calmed himself and allowed the bacta to do its job, relishing the thought of being in medical aid. Whoever it was that was helping him, he thanked them mentally. He hung there vertically suspended in the transparent cylinder. The bubbling slime encapsulated his body.

Skar moved himself closer to the window that separated him from the next room. Outside he could see the sterile whiteness of a medical bay. He couldn't see anything that let him know who was responsible for his rescue.

Skar was about to fall asleep, succumbing to the comfortable flow of the liquid, when two figures appeared just outside the window. One of them was a droid, a silver clad protocol unit by the looks of it, and a woman with long brown hair, dressed in a nurse gown.

As Skar watched, the woman picked up a headset from a nearby table. Then she signaled to Skar, pointing at his air-support. Skar realized there was a microphone in it he could talk into.

He started to talk, which came off as hard to him, his jaw was sore and he realized he had no sense of time. He could have been in the bacta for days.

"H..hello?"

The woman smiled and nodded on the other side. As she spoke Skar found that he could not hear her directly. He had no headset with speakers in them. But he could read her lips and touch her with the Force to find out what she was saying.

"Don't worry, you're safe. You've been in dormo-shock for some time now and your body is recovering miraculously. You're out of danger and you're going to be fine." There was something very comforting about the way she said that.

Again his jaws hurt. "Where…am I?"

The woman smiled. "Onboard the New Republic frigate _Mimosa_."

Skar jolted. "N…New…Republic?"

She smiled, a nurse's smile. "Yes, after the Battle of Endor a document of declaration was made. You are in our care."

Skar calmed down. "How…long have I been here?"

"For about a week. You've been in bacta for a day now, before that you underwent surgery while you were in a coma."

Skar shook his head in the jelly. "Surgery?" He didn't remember having any afflictions that would necessitate cutting him open. "Surgery for what?"

"When we found you on Soliton you were almost dead. From what the medical team told me it appeared you'd suffered a very powerful electrical shock. We were lucky to have found you when we did."

Electrical shock? Could it have been the surge he'd felt when Kayupa and Shinran had died? "I don't remember anything about that."

She snickered. "Well, that's how a coma works."

Skar knew she was joking, he could feel it off her emotions. "How did you find me?"

Now the droid stepped forth, its silver sheen very bright under the powerful white lights in the outside medical bay. "I found you, sir."

Skar looked over the droid. "Who are you?"

"My name is 2L, I was the protocol droid of Master Kayupa, sir."

Skar heard the name and it stung like a spear in his side. "You were his droid?"

"Yes, I was onboard the _Koniduz _when I received a hailing beacon from Master Kayupa's comlink. All that remained at the site was Master Kayupa's corpse and you. I signaled the closest ship I could find for medical aid, and this vessel responded, sir."

Skar nodded slowly. "So … Kayupa is dead?"

The droid didn't seem to know how to respond. "Much so, sir."

Skar felt happiness knowing that. He remembered seeing Kayupa die, but he wanted to be sure. "Good." And it really _did _feel good.

The woman reacted and pulled out a cylinder object from her gown. Skar recognized it. A lightsaber. "Do you know what this is? Did it belong to this Kayupa person?"

Skar shook his head, feeling horrible memories springing to life. Flashes of the last things he could remember, the memory feeling so old it could have been years ago. "No … it belonged to my Master. Jedi Master Bo-Hi Dzog."

She looked at the droid, then back at him. "There are some people who want to talk to you about this."

"About what?"

She looked stern. "About Jedi."

Skar looked at her as hard as he could manage through the liquid. "What do they want to know?"

She stepped forth and placed her empty hand on the glass. She looked concerned for his welfare while curiously interested in him. "Are _you _… a Jedi?"

Skar nodded. "Yes."

She nodded and smiled. "I'll have you out of the tank in a few hours. Then I'll take care of you and make sure you're perfectly back to health." She placed the lightsaber inside her gown again and rested her hands at her hips. "After that you can talk to _him_."

Skar was confused. "Who?"

She smiled with the hint of a grin. "Don't act like you don't know. He's very anxious to meet you. He should be here in a day or two."

Skar banged his fist against the window and saw that it frightened her. She stepped back while the droid just stared at him, as if curious about his irrational behavior.

"Who?"

She swallowed hard before voicing the name. "Luke Skywalker."

* * *

It had taken a while to wash off all the healing goo but he found himself in pretty good shape. His arms and legs were sore from not being used for a week, but his health was perfect. The wounds on his hands from digging Shinran out of the dive were all patched up and healed. The cut on his wrist from rolling away from Kayupa's flying blade was healthy too. 

He went down to the mess hall onboard the _Mimosa_. There was a grayness over everything he saw, his own sadness painted over all he touched. A feeling of being a ghost walking amongst those whose opinion he didn't care for, wallowing in his own misery. The tables were all empty and Skar was happy for that. He longed to eat solid food again, of any kind, he'd even eat some of the goo he and Kayupa had once swallowed down before tasting it back in the days. The mere memory almost sent Skar back to the medical bay to cry, but he found strength in the Force and collected a cup of caf and some porridge from the cafeteria.

Skar picked the table that was as far away from anything he could want. He sat down and sipped the hot caf, tasting the warm and rich drink. Then he slowly started to poke at the porridge with the spoon. The porridge didn't taste of anything but he found the sensation of having food work its way into his belly refreshing. Skar finished the plate and sat back.

The mess-hall soon crowded with pilots coming back from missions. They collected plates from the servant droid and began eating while cheering about past victories and bragging about their last simulator scores. Skar found the overwhelming wave of overconfidence sickening. He thanked his luck they kept distance from him.

Out of the entrance to the mess-hall came 2L. Kayupa's abandoned protocol droid whom Skar guessed now belonged to him. 2L came clattering across the floor and, with permission, seated himself next to Skar.

"I'm terribly sorry to disturb you, sir, but the nurse told me you'd be here and I have a question that requires an answer only you can provide."

Skar nodded. "What question?"

"When I received the hail from Master Kayupa's comlink, it was a woman talking. Who is she and where is she, sir?"

Skar felt his heart beating fast. "She was a friend and she's…dead." Skar leaned forward. "Not to put you down, but that's all I can say right now."

"She was a friend, sir?"

Skar nodded and thought, _and so much more_. "She was a friend."

2L looked at him, the slightly comical way only a droid could do, and seemed to think no more of it. "After Master Kayupa's regretful death I suppose you are my new Master. I am presently without any other option, and would be delighted to enlist in your service."

Skar smiled. "How did you and Kayupa meet?"

"He purchased me on Nar Shaddaa. A good deal, I'd say. I am equipped with the latest in protocol procedure and could be a great asset to you. I've also updated my own memory with all the information there is surrounding Jedi. I could be a great help to you."

Of that Skar was sure. "What else you got?"

"Apart from being an excellent interpreter and an expert in human-relations, I have an extensive knowledge of the Galaxy."

Skar found himself oddly amused by the droid's attempt to sell itself. "I have no money to offer you."

"And such is not needed, sir. I am yours by default."

Skar thought of something. It was a long shot and it had already been beaten to death in his own mind, but he thought the droid might shed some new light on the subject.

"Search your database for a planet called Nanh."

The droid's head tilted as it searched its mechanical brain for a match, but it came up empty. "Sorry, sir. Such a planet is not registered. If it does exist no one has registered it."

Skar nodded. "Run a match for the word itself and see what you come up with."

The droid complied and said, "the word Nanh has fifty-three matches to exist in the languages known to the Galaxy. The most common meaning of the word lies in the Kjoil language." The droid seemed to smile, as much as it was possible for a droid to do so. "It means home."

Skar smiled. While he one day hoped to have the strength and power in the Force that Master Bo-Hi had possessed, he knew it would be long before he was that well-founded in the Force. To become a true Master of the Force required more than he was ready to give right now.

Together the three Jedi had created the future, guiding the path of many others into a better world. It would take effort yet, but Skar was sure that the future would be a haven compared to the past. Skar knew he would always remember Master Bo-Hi, he would be remembered for his strength, his trust, his care and his love. _You truly did show me a home._

The droid remembered something else. "Now that I think of it, the word Kayupa has a reference to the Kjoil language as well."

Skar was afraid to ask.

"It means brother."

Skar wondered at why Master Bo-Hi, for who else, had named Kayupa with a name that meant 'brother'. Again he found himself in awe of the Master's foresight and strength. He must have known Skar and Kayupa would eventually meet. Skar still saw him as an idol for him, while realizing the danger of idolizing. Kayupa had all the right ideas, but his frilled control and painful past had geared his path into destruction. Skar prayed Kayupa had found the rest of spirit in the afterlife that he so much longed to have while he was alive.

Skar leaned back in his chair, noticed all the pilots still engulfed in their feeble attempts of self-elevation. Skar didn't want to be that way. He was better off on his own. His heart told him it was the right thing to do. He didn't even want to meet Skywalker. Maybe someday in the future he would stand by the Jedi's side and support him, but not now. His fate didn't call for it yet.

_Your life as a Jedi will not be easy on you, if you choose this path placed before you, then a hard life indeed it'll be. You will leave this sorrow and you must never look back to this point. You must never dwell at this pain. Your eyes must look forward to the future, and to the dreams you want to realize. So you can be who you want to be. And do the things you've only dreamt of doing._

Skar nodded. _There is no emotion, there is peace. _He looked over at the silver sheen of 2L and said, "what now?"

The droid was confused. "Master Skywalker should arrive at any given moment. You have time for another meal or shower by my estimate, sir."

Skar shook his head. "I don't want to meet him."

The droid was in shock. "Why not, sir?"

Skar sighed. Everywhere he looked there was some painful memory to remember. Events had transpired that would follow him forever and he could do nothing but accept them. As time went by it would mend what was now so wounded, or least so he prayed. He had no doubts that he would remember the last month, in fact the last two years, forever. It was a vital part of his growth as a Jedi. He'd overcome the most impossible obstacles, endeared the most horrifying emotional challenges. Skar felt the touch with Force, like the brightest star of them all glowing right inside him. He had survived, while others had failed. Skar didn't know how to explain it, not to a droid anyhow.

He knew the Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker was coming to see him, no doubt to persuade him into joining him and to bring this Galaxy back together. Skar realized that while he had been fighting to keep the Jentarana at bay, Luke Skywalker had been fighting the Empire up close, killing the Emperor and Darth Vader. They were much alike in that way, he guessed

Skar shook his head. He wanted rest. He wanted to contemplate where he could do the most good the way he found most comfortable. He wouldn't let Skywalker influence him into making a bad decision. And he wanted more than anything to have time to heal. After all, how could he go on fighting another cause, when his own heart had not had time to mend? This was what Kayupa meant. Skar had so much freedom but he just didn't acknowledge it. Free now to choose his own life, free of the past, somewhat, and free to find a new path.

A path for himself.

_I'm not ready for the responsibility. I've kept my promise. I vanquished the Jentarana. I ended the tyranny my uncle created. I've freed his spirit. All of it was done out of my own sense of duty. My life was based on fulfilling my heritage and I have. Now its time to look for myself. I know who I am, but I don't know where I'm supposed to be. Is it with the Republic or is it on my own? _

Skar shook his head determined.

_I'm not ready. Skywalker will have to wait. The farther back you look, the farther forward you are likely to see. Its time I began living again, for myself. _

"It is not … my place to be here yet. There are other things that I must take care of first. I can't join the New Republic just yet."

2L nodded, mimicking understanding. "I am frequently updated with the latest in religious and philosophical aspects of existence. As a droid that knowledge is of little use. I understand however. You're in need of rest. Spiritually."

Skar smiled, liking the droid more and more as they got to know each other. "Yes. That's right."

"My services are at your command, sir."

Skar thought it over. "We will need a ship."

The droid made the equivalent of a human smile, titled its head in pride. "The _Koniduz _is still at our disposal, sir. We are free to leave if we want to do so. Even the New Republic cannot hold us here if they wished to."

Skar smiled. This droid was great. Determined, rebellious and cocky. "Where is the _Koniduz_?"

"Lower hangar, sir."

Skar nodded and rose from the table. "Meet me there."

"Yes, sir."

Skar began walking away from the table but he heard the droid moving behind him. The droid looked embarrassed, as much as it was able to do.

"What is it, 2L?"

"Sir, while I am your servant and you are my Master, I find that this action does not apply with my database's image of a Jedi's behavior. The Jedi kind have been extinct for a long time and were once the respected protectors of the Old Republic. Now that a New Republic is in effect, the little number of Jedi would gain most by unifying their numbers. They work as a team. Your not wanting to meet with Master Skywalker contrasts this."

Skar lowered his head. The droid was telling him he was making the wrong choice, that he should stay here instead of taking the easy way out of confrontation. Nevertheless his heart told him it was the right path to take. It was the road that he wanted and that was all that mattered.

Skar looked back up at 2L, smiling. "A wise man once told me to listen to my heart. It is the only way we can find happiness in our lives. To follow the wants of the heart. Right now my heart is telling me this is the right way to go. I won't force you to come, 2L, it could be dangerous."

2L held out his hands. "You are my Master, it is my duty to follow."

* * *

Skar watched as the _Koniduz _powered up on its repulsorlift, ready to go. 

"Wait!"

He looked behind him to see the nurse, running across the hangar. She looked desperate. Skar folded his hands behind his back. As she neared Skar could feel her haste and her lack of understanding his sudden departure.

"Where are you going? What about your meeting with Luke Skywalker? Have you forgotten?"

Skar shook his head slowly. "No. I haven't."

She stared at him in confusion. Then her eyes rolled and she reached inside her gown to pull out the lightsaber. The lightsaber that belonged to his Master Bo-Hi. "I guess this belongs to you."

Skar took it in his hand. The sensation washed through his feelings and he felt Master Bo-Hi's presence in the Force. It was not his real presence, just a brief image of who he was, like a snap-shot of the man's life. Skar wanted to cry again but shook it off.

"What do I tell Skywalker?"

Skar looked at her. She was right. He didn't want to leave without at least letting Skywalker know why he hadn't wished to meet him. Skar closed his eyes and imbedded himself in the Force, drawing on its energy at the task at hand. He focused his thoughts into a document which he then placed in the presence of the Force in the lightsaber. All a Jedi needed to do to read it was to touch it. He hoped Skywalker would pick up on that. That he was gifted enough.

Skar handed it back to the nurse. "Give him this. He will know what it means."

She nodded and took the lightsaber in her hands. "I will."

Skar turned and walked towards the _Koniduz_, the ramp was lowered and he could feel 2L impatiently walking around inside the cockpit for him to come. The droid must have picked up on Skar's desire to leave before Skywalker arrived.

Skar turned and looked down at the nurse from the ramp. "Tell Skywalker I've spent enough time in the company of Death," Skar proclaimed, "but this isn't goodbye."

She nodded and Skar ascended the ramp, leaving the New Republic's care and setting off on his own. The ramp closed shut behind him.

Only one more stop remained before he could set out on his own path.

* * *

While he remembered his lack of love for the world and his vow to never return to Nar Shaddaa, there was something natural about being back there. His eyes looked at the falling Nal Hutta, taking in the only light and warmth left in the day. Closing his eyes, he focused the warmth to a part of him that felt strangely cold; his heart. The decision to not return to Kryuu and pick up his Holocron had not been easy, nor hard. The pain of having to see the world again, reliving the memories, ripped at his heart. The part of him that was still human knew that he wouldn't return to that place. 

Skar's tattooed fingers placed another log on top of the funeral pyre, outside the _Koniduz_. He also felt the inner sadness coming off of Kayupa's remains, the one he felt inside too. The body was still laid out on a metal hull that had once belonged to a ship. Kayupa's eyes were closed, his hands joined at his chest, and dried blood over a burnt hole in his chest. 2L had managed to acquire what remained of the partly cremated body before they left. The New Republic didn't seem to want it. Nor did Skar really, but he felt he owed one last thing to his lost friend.

Skar lit the logs and watched as the fire slowed worked their way across Kayupa, once friend and Jedi, later turned to the Dark Side, becoming an enemy. The clothes caught fire quickly and Skar stood back, as to not smell the ashy odor coming from the pyre. The smoke lifted to the sky, slightly pushed at by the wind, but unstoppably rising to the dark clouds and the light from the Nal Hutta off in the east.

After pulling his hood up, Skar folded his hands at his stomach, and let out the heavy air contained in his lungs. The air had been held in too long, and Skar felt the strain, but it no way toppled the feeling of despair in his heart.

With wind pulling at his robe, warm tears on his cheeks, Skar closed his eyes. "I admired you, Kayupa. You helped me push to be better, to be even better than you. You kept me on my toes, constantly training to be what I could be. Though our last time together was one smeared in hate, I will remember you as my sparring partner, the one who helped me be the best swordsman I could be. A trait I'm sure I'll need in the future."

Skar shuddered at the words. Skar felt like saying more to explain his own perception, but his throat closed at the strain of having to speak his emotions for a friend. And too late.

"You asked me to bury you, because you knew you wouldn't join with the Force," Skar's eyes became blurred as the mixture of heat and his own thoughts sent his eyes watering, "but this way you will join. Perhaps not the way you wanted, but I'll know you are gone. I want to know you are gone." Skar's sleeve wiped away the tears and he sought to the cloud-filled sky for comfort. "I loved you as a brother. The hardest thing I've ever had to do was fight you. You taught me good, and I'll remember you always, brother."

Skar swallowed and let his shoulders sink. "Your death saved me from the Dark Side. I'm sorry I couldn't repay the favor." Skar's right hand became a fist, as his eyes again succumbed to the warmth and his own emotions. Skar turned away from the funeral pyre and looked out at the last rays of light before the clouds blanketed them.

He wasn't through with the eulogies yet. Skar covered his eyes with his hand, and felt his face convulse into a frazzled image of the face he had.

_Shinran._

Saying that he was sorry wouldn't let the anguish go away, it wouldn't bring her back. The familiar feeling of rage came back with force. It was hard to believe there was any kind of super-being or super-energy at work in the Galaxy taking care of the world. Many lives were destroyed every single day, but why did it have to be the _one _in the entire world that he loved so deeply?

He'd always thought they'd be together until the end, somehow he couldn't imagine life without her. He guessed he should have been grateful for the last two years he had her in his life, but he realized he wished those two years could have been his whole life, and in a way so far they had. He couldn't help feeling evicted from life, feeling that nothing would ever be as good or as perfect as what he'd had with her.

He wished he could stop breathing, wishing only to escape the pain. Their love seemed a dream now, a mere fantasy, something he'd dreamt up but had never really happened. A dream he'd stolen and was forced to return, left only with a hole where he'd once had a soul.

Dreams always passed in time.

He turned it around in his head, replaying the incident. Trying to find the moment where he'd neglected her, where he'd not done what he'd should. The moment where he hadn't seen himself losing her. Had he always been? Was it just not meant to be? Could something so right…just be a mere coincidence? Had he fooled himself into thinking it was really more than just a casual meeting? Why did something so pure have to be torn?

"Shinran, you once said you didn't know where you'd end up or who you'd be when your time ran out. I didn't know either that time, but now I think I do. I do know who you were and where you were when the time came. You were with me, you were inside me, and you brought warmth to the coldest part inside me."

Skar looked over his shoulder to see the last remains of the funeral pyre. All that was left was ashes and dark scorch marks on the makeshift table.

Kayupa was gone.

"The Force has you both now. In a way I wish I'd never entered your lives. A part of me wishes you to be alive, though I know that I wouldn't be where I am now if you were. I wouldn't be a Kjoil."

Skar looked away, afraid to see Shinran's or Kayupa's face in his mind. Trying not to remember what they looked like. "The mistakes you taught me will never be repeated, you can count on that."

Skar tried to smile like it was the hardest thing he'd ever done. "Its time for me to leave this world," Skar's throat clapped tight again, hearing dread in his own voice, "but I'll be back someday. To remember what happened. To remember why I became a Kjoil in the first place. To learn how to go on - "

"I thought you'd learned that by now."

Skar whirled around, his heavy robe suspended on the wind, as the familiar voice cut through everything.

It was not her; not all the way. She was transparent and blue shining specks, like stars, orbited around her white persona. As much as it hurt to admit Skar recognized her as a ghost. Her moves were followed by blue clouds of vapor. He knew some Jedi were able to return in spirit after death, if they were joined with the Force in their death, even though Skar's preconception of Shinran as being a non-Jedi conflicted that. But he didn't want to know the details now, he was too glad to see her.

Suddenly the world seemed perfect again, suddenly his life made sense, suddenly all his pain didn't feel like such a waste of time. She looked radiant, more beautiful than ever. Her long blond hair trailed down her face, surrounding her delicate features and her warm smile. Skar's heart warmed up as he started to walk closer to her.

She held up a palm to stop him.

"You're here …?"

"No, I'm not. I've been called forth to talk to you one last time."

Skar couldn't believe it. "How...do I know you're real? How do I know I'm not crazy?"

She raised her brows. "Do you care?"

He realized he didn't. "No..."

"I have only this last moment, so I must be brief. I hope you will understand me, as you've always have."

Skar shrugged, wanting more than anything to remove the quench he felt in his heart. "Right now I know we're both thinking the same thing."

She nodded. "That we'll never see each other again."

Skar felt his heart being enclosed in a cold, hard fist. That was it. "Shinran, why did you…?"

She smiled. "Because I loved you."

"Is that the only reason?"

"Isn't it reason enough?" she said endearingly. She seemed giddy, almost as if she was experiencing joy for the first time, and Skar hoped that was not true. Crossing her transparent arms she looked at the ground. "You shouldn't try to explain love, Skar, that's a mistake. Love can never be portrayed, its a mystery, its in the eyes of the beholder. I wasn't going to let Kayupa hurt you. When we first met, I felt our connection, I went after it, because I wanted to know if it was real to you."

Riding along with the wave of pain he felt from her, was a sadness, birthed from a feeling in him that he should have taken off with her instead of rushing off to fight Kayupa. He should have let her see how much he loved her. That she mattered more than the Force.

"I did what I felt was right. Kayupa was in trouble. I had to go help him. I couldn't forget him. I had to try and help him. _I had to_, Shinran. I owed it to everybody I've ever met. I had to do what I did. I had to follow my heart."

She sighed, trying to show a point that was hard to make in words. "None of that matters now. Life is gonna go the way it wants to go. Its up to _you _to make the best of all the things that come your way. You can't change the past and there are still millions of choices down life's path. Don't stay in the past."

Skar heard the words and found comfort in them, but only little. "Was that the message you were sent to deliver?"

"No."

Their eyes met and he felt hers were digging right into his mind, trying to find some reassurance. When she spoke, her voice was inside his head, filling his thoughts with clarity. Letting him understand more than just the words.

_I'm here to tell you that the path you have chosen is the right one. And many new things you will find in that path. Be who you are, no matter what people think. What you are inside, is never something to be ashamed of. The only person you have to impress, is yourself. What you have, no one can touch that. Be proud of yourself, Skar. You have every reason to. Follow your heart and you can go to where no one's been._

Skar cried, finding relief in her words. "Thank you."

She smiled and her hand reached out to him. He could feel it wiping away the tear at the corner of his nose. Skar found the tears to be an odd relief for his emotions. Somehow crying helped confront the pain, making it go away, but slower than he would have liked.

Skar held out his hands. "I don't know if I _can _move on, without you. I can't let this…_dream _slip through my hands," the frustration of not having the ability to keep her in his life made him sick inside, " I just _can't _accept that…you were never meant to belong to me."

She moved her finger across his lips, her touch slight but more than Skar could have ever wished for. "It wasn't a dream, Skar. It doesn't matter if you don't know where you're going to, as long as you get there."

"What - what was the _purpose _of it all?"

She smiled. "Who says it has to have a purpose?"

"You _died_, I can't let that just be a - " his voice cracked. He didn't know what he wanted to say, he only knew he couldn't accept Shinran's death as a random outcome of it all. He wanted it to have a meaning, a significance. Losing her was one thing, but losing her for nothing would drive him crazy.

"If I had killed Kayupa you would still - "

"Be alive?" She shrugged. "Maybe." She smiled in that severely cute way, reassuring him as only she could. "Kayupa wasn't the only person who got to influence you, you know. I had my moments too. These last two years were catalysts for you to grow. Me, Kayupa and Master Bo-Hi, we were all there to further your advance. The Force has a keen eye on you, Skar Kjoil," she teased, "it expects great things of you in the future. But this moment in your life…is your own. Where you end up from here is entirely up to you. Who knows, maybe next time you'll get to influence someone?"

Skar felt lighter inside. "I wouldn't kill Kayupa, I didn't follow his words. That's what changed the outcome of the dream, wasn't it? The Force knew. That's why I'm still alive."

She nodded, her beautiful eyes filled with their own light. "You changed the course of the future, the dream was a warning. And it helped you realize many things. Now the future is your own. You make the choices, listen with your heart; that was one of the things Kayupa told you that wasn't a bad influence. Its through the heart we can only really see the true nature of a thing. Don't obsess over words too much."

Skar smiled. "I won't."

She pulled away a strand of hair from his face. Skar found it hard to concentrate on her words when her beautiful face was so close, when the warmth surrounding them felt so right. "Strength is never found through others. You have all the tools inside, you just need to look harder."

Skar looked up at her. "I thought _we _were strong through each other. That we were only strong because we were together."

She kissed his lips, the moment lingering for so long Skar thought time had stopped, her voice again a whisper. "But what we shared that made us perfect wasn't strength. It was love, Skar. That's what made us complete." She kissed his nose, teasingly. "Our love." She tilted her head and smiled, a smile so complete, so honest, that he doubted she could have looked as happy if she were still alive. "Go lightly down your path, Skar."

Feeling like time was slipping away for them, there were only two more things he needed to know, he wasn't ready to let go. "How did you join with the Force? You said that you weren't connected to it."

She shrugged. "We're all connected to the Force, Skar. Even those of us who don't believe in it."

"That's not an answer."

Her face remained the same. "Time will tell, Skar. I don't know the answers myself." She turned around fast, as if she heard someone calling behind her, like she saw something he couldn't. And she started to pull away.

Skar held on to her as firmly as he could. "Don't go," he said lightly, his throat starting to clog, "please, don't go."

She looked back at him, smiled reassuringly. "I have to. And you have to."

Skar felt her begin to slip out of his life again, but he wasn't ready for it. "Will I ever see you again?" Asking, he realized how sad the answer to that question could be.

She tugged her arms around him, even as she was fading. Reaching in towards each other, sharing one last embrace, Skar and Shinran shared their last kiss. Skar tried not to cry as he knew this might bethe last kiss they'd ever share. When it was over the last Skar saw of her was her close green eyes, looking through him, filling him with warmth, filling him with confidence and reassurance. Telling him yet again she believed in him.

She always had.

"What does your heart tell you?"

_**The End**_


End file.
